What are Repair Cafés?
The international Repair Café movement kicked off in Amsterdam and now there are nearly two thousand Cafés around the world, covering most continents. The concept is borne out of the Repair, Recycle and Reduce idea, thus reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill. In the UK we produce the second highest amount of e-waste per person in the world – it’s shocking!
Most importantly, Repair Cafés bring people together. They are community events that match people who need stuff fixed with people who like fixing things and are completely non-commercial. Although there can be no promises and no guarantees, repairers will do everything they can to save items and reduce the impact that buying new stuff has on the environment. Repairers are always keen to teach visitors how to do the repair themselves and at the very least encourage them to watch while they do it. There’s a real ‘can do’ atmosphere at Repair Cafés – it’s good to tackle practical problems in a way that can make a real difference.
Buckden Repair Café Group are looking for “new repairers” and volunteers to make cakes/help on the day (5th October 2024 between 1.30 and 4.30 p.m.).
Do you enjoy mending things or know someone else who does? Could you give up a few hours of your time to mend something for others and help reduce our collective carbon footprint? The sorts of repairs undertaken range from electrical, mechanical, sharpening/restoring garden tools, bicycles, to clocks, jewellery, woodwork, upholstery, sewing and sometimes some very interesting and unique pieces. New volunteers are “buddied up” with experienced repairers from the Cambridgeshire Repair Café Network at their first event so that they can see how the process works. Toolkits and consumables are borrowed from the Network (of course sewers bring their own machines), so you don’t have to use your own tools if you don’t want to. All you donate is 3-4 hours of your time!
If you are someone who loves to cook and would like to donate some home-made goodies to help us stock the café or could lend a hand to run it, even if just for an hour or so, then we would love to hear from you.
If you would be interested in helping out at our Repair Café, please contact buckdenrepaircafe@gmail.com
To book a repair: https://forms.gle/3NjojicPWCLyMcVQ7