L’Écrou Mobile - Mobile Repair Workshop in the Nyon Region

The Écrou Mobile project offers a low-cost, low-emission mobile repair service at home in the Nyon region.

We want to offer a low-cost, low-emission mobile repair service that comes to your home in the Nyon region. Traveling to have an item repaired can be a challenge; items are sometimes bulky and heavy, travel can be difficult, and technical skills are often required. Our project aims to address these challenges. L’Écrou Mobile seeks to make repairs more accessible—both physically and mentally—more inclusive, and more environmentally friendly, by meeting a real need among residents of the Nyon region. By bringing our repair expertise directly to the homes of Nyon residents using fully equipped, eco-friendly micro-vehicles, we increase the chances of extending the lifespan of refrigerators, washing machines, freezers, dishwashers, and other bulky items. Supporting L’Écrou Mobile means laying the foundation for a community-based repair service and expanding access to repairs, even for people with limited mobility or for items that are difficult to transport. This project is led by L’Écrou, a repair workshop founded and run by residents of the Nyon region since 2018, whose mission is to reduce the number and volume of items discarded in the Nyon region.

An ever-increasing portion of the regional population is choosing to repair rather than throw away, and this trend is encouraging. However, we recognize that the decision to have an item repaired is sometimes hindered by difficulties in accessing repair services. In fact, these services almost always require bringing the item to be repaired to a repair shop, making access difficult for people whose mobility is limited by age or distance, those without personal transportation, as well as those wishing to repair a heavy or bulky item.

We aim to address this challenge by offering a low-cost (compared to purchasing an equivalent new device) and low-emission mobile repair service in the Nyon area. L’Écrou Mobile offers a local service, available on demand, provided by our trained repair technicians who are equipped to work directly in customers’ homes. It expands the region’s repair options to include bulky items and serve people with limited mobility.

Our project is fully aligned with the public interest, promoting values of social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and local solidarity. It puts the circular economy into practice, making it more inclusive and accessible, at the intersection of social and environmental goals. Furthermore, this project responds to a demand expressed by residents of the region, who wish to benefit from such a home service.

To remain true to our environmental commitment, this service will be provided using an electric vehicle, reducing the carbon footprint associated with travel by avoiding the use of internal-combustion vehicles. Options currently under consideration include cargo bikes and four-wheeled electric micro-vehicles. By promoting repair over replacement, the project directly contributes to a local ecological transition and a sustainable city, deeply rooted in the daily lives of Nyon’s residents.

The objectives of Écrou Mobile are as follows:

• To increase users’ independence. Certain everyday items are essential for ensuring people’s independence and enabling them to remain in their homes (kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, air conditioners, or space heaters, etc.). By making repair services accessible to people with limited mobility (including older adults, people with disabilities, or those without transportation options), we help reduce inequalities in access to essential services, strengthen the local social fabric, and improve the quality of life for beneficiaries. By enabling high-quality repairs at home, without relying on third parties or external services, the project promotes independence, helps people remain in their own homes, and preserves their quality of life, while empowering them to take control of their daily lives.

• Reduce repair costs (related to logistical constraints). Transporting a defective item—which may be heavy, bulky, or fragile—can result in significant additional financial costs, time-consuming trips, or the need to rely on third parties. Our service aims to keep repairs financially attractive—particularly compared to the cost of purchasing a new, similar device—and enables those with limited means to have their items repaired, thereby extending their lifespan.

• Eliminate the physical and logistical barriers to repair. By offering in-home service, we make life easier for beneficiaries for whom travel is difficult or even impossible, or who have bulky, defective items. The service also reduces the mental and physical burden associated with the logistics of a repair.

• Minimizing the environmental impact of repairs: Our service is designed to have a minimal environmental impact. By using low-emission modes of transportation (electric bicycles or small, lightweight vehicles), we replace trips made by internal-combustion vehicles and significantly reduce associated CO₂ emissions in the Nyon region. By extending the lifespan of items, we reduce the production of new items that generate significant environmental impacts (in terms of raw material extraction, transportation, packaging, energy use, or waste generation). Thus, in-home repairs help reduce the region’s collective environmental footprint, combat planned obsolescence, and embed sustainable consumption practices in our community.

• Focusing on Efficiency: With the right equipment and tools, we aim to prioritize efficiency in our travel and repairs. Our mode of transportation and the infrastructure supporting our mobile operations will allow us to optimize our travel and save valuable time for our repair technicians.

Projections: In its first year of operation, we estimate that L’Écrou Mobile will carry out approximately 120 in-home repair visits, extend the lifespan of more than 130 items, and directly support more than 100 beneficiaries, while avoiding nearly 1,800 km of motorized travel, thanks to a local service using electric micro-vehicles or cargo bikes.

Finally, the association Atelier de Réparation l’Écrou, which has been self-funded since its inception through its repair service, combines responsiveness and autonomy in the delivery of its services. The association is independent of grants or contractual support for carrying out its activities and embodies a model of self-determination. Supporting this project therefore means encouraging this momentum and providing one-time support to launch in-home services, which will subsequently be self-funded through repair fees.

Part of the funding needed to launch L’Écrou Mobile has already been secured from the Loterie Romande and the Sandoz Family Philanthropic Foundation, which has enabled us to make the initial investments essential to getting the project off the ground. Funding through participànyon would allow us to complete the startup budget and offer this new service to the public by early 2027.

Justification for the Items to Be Funded

I. Physical infrastructure:

A) Electric micro-vehicle: This vehicle is necessary to transport repair equipment, tools, and, if needed, certain bulky items. It is intended to be used for transporting equipment. Because of its small size, this vehicle also allows for easy access to residential neighborhoods or dense urban areas, while maintaining flexible and efficient logistics.         

B) Tools, bicycle equipment, and professional workwear: The acquisition of suitable, durable, and portable tools enables us to work on a wide variety of everyday items directly at beneficiaries’ homes. We aim to perform professional-quality repairs under optimal working conditions, while maintaining a mobile, lightweight setup and a high degree of adaptability to in-home situations. The required tools include standard hand tools, equipment specific to certain types of repairs (household appliances, carpentry, basic electronics, textiles), as well as basic technical and diagnostic equipment.         

II. Intangible Infrastructure:

A) Telecommunications, acquisition of operations management software: The operations software would allow us to efficiently organize appointment scheduling, planning, and payment management. Setting up a dedicated phone line for the service would fall under this category.

III. Support for the launch of the business

A) Contribution toward the first 50 service calls: To cover the initial in-home repairs, we are requesting a contribution toward the first 50 repairs, in the amount of CHF 42.00 per repair (equal to half the average repair rate, which is CHF 84.00). Although our repair operations at Atelier l’Écrou are well-established, launching a mobile repair service may involve unforeseen challenges. The identified risks include: the need for specialized tools not anticipated despite our planning; constraints due to distance; the greater complexity of diagnostics and repairs at home (including the specific logistics involved with bulky items); tasks beyond those required for in-workshop repairs; inclement weather; and so on. Despite solid planning, these risks remain difficult to predict.  

B) Creation of a visual identity: This aims to project a professional and recognizable image both in public spaces and during our visits to customers’ homes. This visual identity would also be featured on our equipment and uniforms. These elements are important when the service we offer involves entering the homes of people who may have limited mobility or be particularly vulnerable.

C) Promotion and Communication: We aim to create a visual identity that will be featured on our work uniforms, on promotional decals for our vehicles, and on other physical materials. The purpose of this visual identity is to raise awareness of our project in public spaces while on the go and to build trust with our clients by making us easily recognizable. To build customer loyalty and attract new users, we plan to launch a multi-channel communication campaign. A low-cost online presence (website, social media, targeted advertising campaigns) will be combined with communication via physical materials (such as business cards, posters, and flyers). We also hope to raise public awareness of the values of the circular economy, solidarity, and sustainable mobility that we champion.

19,800

Since 2018, L’Écrou’s activities have been part of the Nyon landscape, and in 2023, the workshop moved to Nyon. The headquarters of Écrou Mobile would be located within the Écrou Repair Workshop at Route de l’Etraz 20A in Nyon and would serve the Nyon region.

L’Écrou Repair Workshop