fikseeri

Fikseeri is a term used to describe a practitioner who repairs, modifies, and repurposes devices, usually within informal or community contexts. The concept appears in speculative fiction and in maker-culture discussions as a label for hands-on problem solvers who work with limited resources.

Definition and scope: A fikseeri conducts troubleshooting, disassembly, sourcing or fabricating parts, and iterative testing. Their skills may include mechanical engineering, electronics, software, and design. The emphasis is on practical ingenuity, sustainability, and collaboration, aiming to extend the life of technology rather than replace it.

Origins and usage: The idea developed in maker spaces and repair communities during the 2010s and 2020s, and has been adopted by some science fiction writers to portray characters who maintain or reconfigure technology under constraint. In real-world contexts, similar practices are seen in repair cafés, hackerspaces, and open-source hardware projects that share knowledge openly.

Notable associations: Fikseeri practices align with repair activism, the maker movement, and the ethos of repair as a resource. The term remains relatively niche and its exact meaning varies between communities and texts.

Related concepts: The fikseeri concept intersects with fixer roles in repair culture, repair cafés, maker culture, and open-source hardware.