Our aim is to encourage more people to repair broken household items rather than replacing them with new.
This saves the planet’s resources, reduces the number of items going to landfill, and helps people save money.
When and Where?
The Tideswell & District Repair Café is held on the third Saturday of each month (except August and December) at the new Community Hall on Church Lane in Tideswell. People can drop in with their broken items between 10am and 1pm.
How does it work?
There is no charge made for repairs (although people may need to source spare parts themselves if they are needed). Donations are encouraged to help with the running costs of the Repair Café.
Our Repair Café is run by volunteers who share their repair skills and interest in fixing stuff. They talk people through the process of working out what needs fixing, and how to fix it. Their enthusiasm encourages people to make their own repairs in future if they can.
What can we repair?
Our repairers love to put their skills to the test on a range of items, including electrical equipment, bikes, wooden items, toys, textiles, and sharpening blades. Some items may need a specialist repairer, such as clocks, ceramics, and digital equipment, in which case we may be able to recommend a professional repairer. Your items must be portable and clean, please.
Our `House Rules`
Anyone who wishes to have an item repaired by our volunteer repairs must read and agree to our `House Rules` (you can read a copy here).
It has a social side as well – there really is a café, serving coffee, tea and home-made cakes. You can just drop in to enjoy the café or grab a cuppa while you wait for a repairer to be available. We also ask for donations to cover these costs.
Would you like to be a Repair Café volunteer?
If you would like to find out more about the Repair Café, or would like to be part of the volunteer team—we need people to meet and greet our visitors, people to run the café, and of course people who love to mend things. Please contact us at – repaircafe@tdeg.org.uk
Part of a bigger project
Repair Cafés are part of a growing network of similar ventures around the UK, and part of the international Repair Café movement .
Also, the data collected is fed into an international database run by the Restart Project. This helps to apply pressure on manufacturers to design and build in repairability to their products. They are campaigning for “The Right to Repair” to be set in legislation by governments. They also make available instructions and videos for repairers to use as guidance for working on a wide variety of items. You can read more about the Restart Project here.
International Repair Day
International Repair Day is held annually on the third Saturday in October. This year, Tideswell & District Repair Cafe are joining the celebrations. As well as sharing experiences around the globe, a new UK Repair and Reuse Declaration will be launched. Find out more here.
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