THE REPAIR ATELIER
ART and DESIGN in REUSE
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LEXICON OF REPAIR

This Lexicon is an extension to the “Lexicon of Repair” from the book Repair: Sustainable Design Futures edited by Markus Berger and Kate Irvin, Routledge 2023, and expands the books 12 samplings of reparative philosophies and methods practiced around the world within different cultures, religions, and languages. Some in this inventory of key concepts of repair have been around for centuries, while others are much more recent. We aim to expand the initial 12 lexicon entries from the book (snapshots in the cultural world of reparative thinking and practice), they represent a wide array of rooted practices that we hope will spark interest in further research on the myriad examples of global traditions and modes of repair not included in this vocabulary.

PLEASE submit here your contributions to above topics- we will soon transfer all these entries to a Digital Commons Site hosted by the RISD Library.

On Resolver

By Robert Arellano

Resolver: to solve or sort out, carries very specific nuances in modern Cuba. Need an appointment at the US Interests Section? Yo puedo resolver eso. Fix a ‘57 Chevy with nothing but PVC plumbing? De alguna manera hay que resolverlo. In 1992 Fidel Castro declared the “Special Period in Peacetime”—a euphemism for the Revolution’s need to make wartime-sized sacrifices in the face of the new, post-Soviet economy on top of 32 years (and counting) of US embargo. For the better part of the next decade, Cubans would need to confront shortages of food, fuel, and consumer goods with a superhuman talent for invention: a key duplicator powered by an old washing machine motor, metal trays turned into TV antennae, desk fans made from vinyl albums (and propelled by record players)—just a few of their many inventos. 

This D.I.Y. movement was not only condoned but co-opted by the government. Try googling “Con Nuestros Propios Esfuerzos” (By Our Own Exertions), and you’ll find a 289-page PDF of a book published and widely distributed by the Cuban military to “deal with the Special Period” and “demonstrate the possibilities of our system to all people who wish the best for humanity—Cuba’s political, economic, scientific, technical, and organizational capacity to solve [yes, resolver] the nation’s problems with the active and direct participation of an aware, dignified, united and courageous society.” 

In the recipe section, you’ll learn how to make grapefruit sausage, papaya steak, beetroot pudding, and tilapia butter. Tenemos que resolver …

Markus Berger