Fix your old clothes — and the climate.
Mend the World Climate Café, a monthly pop-up cafe in Cape Town, was started by UCT environmental humanities PhD scholar and Cape Town Extinction Rebellion (XR) member Isabelle Joubert.
She said it was a way to bring people together to discuss climate change and finally get to grips with those rips and tears in beloved old garments.
Her invitation sets the tone: “I know it can be intimidating to go to an event where you feel like you don’t know anyone or don’t know what to expect, but I can guarantee we are just a very chilled group of humans who need space to talk about our climate concerns, and we’d love to meet more folk.”
She told Off Track: “People typically bring some kind of broken item along with them to mend. I have mended anything from my ripped duvet to a Patagonia jacket with a hole in the sleeve.
“And then with the mending to occupy our hands, we catch up with each other as people, chat about how we’re feeling about the climate news, think a little bit about what we could do in future climate actions, and generally strengthen the bonds we’ve formed with one another over the course of the year that Mend the World is taking place.
“We think of what we’re doing as prefigurative action: we’re trying to do what we believe is necessary for the longevity of life on our planet and learning to incorporate sustainable behaviours into our lives in a setting that fosters community strength.
“The discussion tends to be free-flowing, and we have hosted XR activists from as far away as Italy.
“I can certainly teach you new stitches and there are a variety of different skills on display so there is usually someone who can help you out of a muddle or help you figure out how to progress in your mending.
“We usually have eight to 12 people. They are encouraged to use whatever they feel comfortable with, so we have folks with knitting needles, thimbles and sewing needles, but we’ve also had people bring whole sewing machines in the past.
“It takes place at an actual cafe and the people there know us now as the eccentric group of climate crafters.
“There is certainly a place for co-mending groups and climate gatherings in the Eastern Cape as the need to make our belongings last longer and to consume less is increasingly pressing considering the contribution of fast fashion and overconsumption to the climate crisis — bearing in mind that overconsumption is linked to privilege.
“It’s my belief that those with the privilege to buy are under an obligation to buy less and make what they have last. Those who cannot afford to overconsume are not contributing to this issue.
“Lack of community is a global issue, so creating more spaces to foster community would be as beneficial in the Eastern Cape as here in Cape Town.
“We try to choose somewhere central and affordable so as not to exclude people.”
No speeches were made at the gatherings.
Daily Dispatch
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