Repair cafes

What is a repair cafe?

Repair cafes are set up to extend the lifetime of products by mending everyday items. Utilising skills of local people, items that are broken can be repaired by an expert in their field to make the product usable again. Repair cafes are generally run by volunteers and offer the social element of coming together over a cup of tea and a chat. All cafes vary in size, frequency and locations.

Repair cafes have a positive impact on your local community as well as the climate. Repair cafes help local people save money, restore items of sentimental value and keep products in use for longer, they prevent waste and reduce demand for new products. In turn, this reduces emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.

Woman repairing item on sewing machine with people watching

Close up photo of man repairing a laptop

How to set up a repair cafe

Before you start your own community repair cafe, check on the Share and Repair Network whether there is one in your area.

Every community repair group is unique, and yours will be too. It is always a good idea to meet with the Repair Network coordinator, arrange to visit existing ones and get some tips on how others are running it. The hub will be happy to put you in touch with the relevant parties. Just get in touch on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Below we are sharing advice and guidance on what to consider when setting up a repair cafe:

Volunteers

You will need skilled people who can “fix” things, as well as people to help out with marketing, admin, fundraising etc.

You can get started with a small team, however, this may limit the types of repairs that can be carried out.

Talk to your community, there will be a wide array of skills out there. You can also attract volunteers via social media, community noticeboards, places of worship, magazines etc

Venue

You will need an accessible venue, this could be a local hall, library space or cafe.

Consider room for each person to have ample table space to carry out the repair and also an area for those waiting for repairs to be done.

Some repairs can be a tad messy so ensure you have the appropriate setup so avoid causing damage to the floors, tables etc.

Also consider whether you want to provide refreshments such as tea, coffee and biscuits.

Funding

Consider the costs of running your event - venue hire, advertising, any tools required (these could be borrowed from a sharing library) and of course insurance. This is very important and your local third sector interface can guide you on this.

Most cafes run on a free basis, however you could ask for a donation to support funding the next event.

Advertising the event

How will you advertise? Remember some members of your community may not have digital access. You may wish to consider posters, flyers, collaboration with local businesses and of course social media.

It is also important to consider what items CAN be repaired at the event and advertise this accordingly.

Insurance

It is key you get insurance and carry out a risk assessment for the venue and for the activities you are carrying out.

You may also wish to have attendees complete a waiver form around the items they are getting fixed in case the item is unfixable.

Your local TSI can support with guidance on insurance.

On the day

Your events will be unique to your community, however you may wish to consider

Waiting area/queuing system
A host to welcome and guide guests
Ticketing system
Refreshments
Stations for the repairers
Booking system prior to the event
Photograph consent

The above are just some of the things you may need to consider, the hub would be happy to arrange a learning exchange to an existing repair cafe for you to speak to the experts.

Get in touch on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you would like more information about how to set up a repair cafe, we recommend you check out the Share and Repair Network who has lots of helpful resources available to members.

Share and Repair Scotland

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