Repair Cafe

Ever have a simple household appliance like a can opener or toaster stop working? We all have. What happens next? Usually, we simply discard the broken item and go shopping for a new one…but what if we could fix it? That’s where the Repair Cafe comes in. Make simple repairs and save the expense (and environmental cost) of buying new.

With it’s roots in Europe, Repair Cafe is an idea that came to Peterborough about a year ago. Right from the very first Cafe held in Peterborough’s Millennium Park, it was clear there was a lot of interest around fixing items rather than tossing them in the trash.

Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things together. At a Repair Cafe, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make the repairs you need – on clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, toys, jewelry, etc. You will also find repair specialists such as electricians, seamstresses, carpenters and mechanics.

Visitors bring their broken items from home. Together with the repair specialists they start making their repairs. Learning and fixing together is the theme of the event.

At GreenUP, we are concerned about what ends up in the trash – not just how much is ending up in the landfill, but also what items are being tossed. REpair and REpurpose, seem like a couple ‘R’s that could be added to the equation when we consider the life cycle of the items we own. Repair Cafe’s help to extend the life of a few of items, while offering a space for connecting with others and learning new skills. That sounds pretty great to us.

This month’s Repair Cafe is being held at the Spill, on Saturday, January 31st from 3 until 6 p.m. The event is absolutely free to attend and you’re invited to bring any items you’d like to have fixed.

Repair Cafe Radio interview from last year with Magic 96.7