Field Notes: What I’ve Enjoyed and Learnt So Far with Fixing for a Future

Hello! I’m Heather, a PhD researcher at the University of St Andrews Business School. I’ve been enjoying spending time with Fixing for a Future over the past few months, as part of my research into reuse, repair, and share organisations in Scotland.

I’m interested in how communities put circular economy ideas into practice. My research method is ethnography, which involves ‘participant observation’: not only observing circular practices, but also participating in them.

Through your repair cafés, sewing groups, Tool Library, and of course the summer celebration, I’ve not only learnt a lot about what is involved in running a repair and share organisation, but also had a lot of fun!

So far, a few points have stood out to me:

·      Your strong, intergenerational, supportive community of volunteers.

·      The extensive and complementary skills, and skill-sharing, of your volunteers.

·      How a rural tool library differs to an urban one: seeing unique tools and members’ projects that you just don’t see in an urban tool library!

What’s next?

This autumn, I’ll start some volunteering shifts at the East Linton Tool Library. I hope to learn through this closer involvement a bit more about tool maintenance, how the library runs day-to-day, and maybe pick up some DIY tips along the way!

Please reach out if you’d like to ask any questions about my research! A huge thank you to everyone who has been so welcoming so far, and I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting more of you soon!