We're very excited to announce these special children's repair workshops, hosted by Buncombe Co. libraries and made possible with a grant from Culture of Repair!
We believe that sewing is a safe and accessible repair skill that children can learn with help from experienced adults, and we believe that teaching a child to repair their stuffed animals is a great opportunity to foster a culture of repair starting at a very young age.
These workshops are about more than just teaching skills. Focusing on tactile, accessible, hands-on skills provides an opportunity to introduce concepts of environmental sustainability that feel concrete, and immediate, as opposed to solely abstract learning. Children have an intimate connection with their stuffed animals, and through repairing their stuffed animals, which they can then take home, children will have a daily reminder of their ability to improve their material world; a potential direct connection to positive environmental outcomes and their improved self-esteem.
We'll begin the workshop with a short lesson that puts the act of repair in the context of environmental and economic sustainability. Following the lesson, one of our skilled repair coaches will demonstrate a simple overhand stitch, and then we'll break into small groups where children can learn to repair their own ripped or town stuffed animals. Each small group of children will have it's own skilled repair coach to guide children through their own repairs. All children will go home with a stuffed animal that they have successfully repaired on their own.
Attendance is limited to 20 children for each day. Sign up following the links below:
February 22 from 4:30 to 6:00, Pack Memorial Library
March 6 from 4:30 to 6:00, West Asheville Public Library
March 9 from 10:30-12:00, Pack Memorial Library
March 23 from 12:30-2:00, West Asheville Public Library
Do you have stuffed animals you'd like to donate to the program? Drop off locations are at the Pack Library children's room and the West Asheville Library. Do you have a large lot you'd like to donate? Email Dan at WNCRepairCafe@gmail.com and we can arrange a pickup.