The repair habit Ghana never lost

In a lot of places, repair is having a revival. People are relearning something their grandparents did automatically.

Ghana never stopped. There is someone who mends shoes near most junctions, someone who fixes fridges, someone who can bring a radio back.

Repair and rehoming are the same instinct

Both start from the same assumption: that a thing has more life in it than its current owner needs.

• A fan that needs a capacitor is not rubbish, it is a twenty-cedi job
• A chair with a loose leg is worth passing on if you say so honestly
• Someone who can fix it will often take it precisely because they can

Say what is wrong

The single most useful thing a lister can do is describe the fault. "The zip is broken" turns a disappointment into a decision — and quite often, the person who takes it is the person who can mend it.