Techtonic with Mark Hurst | WFMU A visit to Repair Cafe El Barrio from Mar 16, 2026
Mar 16, 2026
Roy Venegas, computer science educator, musician, and repair coach; Alex Stein, volunteer repair coach and electronics tinkerer; Rocio Salceda, founder and coordinator of Repair Café El Barrio. They tour a community repair space, talk about fixing heirlooms, lamps and drones, share practical tips and tools, and celebrate repair as community building, resilience, and resistance to throwaway culture.
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Drone Repaired With Ordered Camera Part
- A guest brought a drone and returned a week later after ordering a replacement camera; volunteers installed it and restored functionality.
- The drone repair required coordinating parts and a follow-up visit, showing iterative community support.
Repair Work Fuels Joy And Team Identity
- Alex Stein frames repairing as both practical and emotionally rewarding, likening the group to a baseball team with complementary skills.
- He explains simple fixes (bent clock hands, corroded batteries) deliver big satisfaction and keep items out of landfills.
Founder Turned Personal Crisis Into Community Project
- Rocio Salceda started Repair Café El Barrio in September 2022 from solo sewing sessions and grew it into a multilingual community hub.
- She credited Repair Café Global for guidance and emphasized anchoring the project in El Barrio's local history and institutions.
