Repair Café
Last Saturday of the month between 2pm and 5pm. Volunteers welcome!
When is it held?
Last Saturday of each month between 2pm and 5pm (except December).
The Community Toolbox Facebook page lists all our Repair Café events and you can find a list of all Toolbox events, including Repair Cafés, on our online event calendar.
Where is it?
Common Ground Hall, 8 Hawdon Pl, Dickson 2602 - right next door to Café Stepping Stone.
How does it work?
Repair Cafés: Where volunteers fix your stuff - for free. You bring your broken or other not-working-properly item along; we match you with a volunteer repairer who can hopefully diagnose the problem, and complete the fix for you.
We advertise our full list of volunteer repairers close to each date - the list usually includes fabric mending (eg hemming, patching), small electrical (eg lamps, kitchen appliances), knife sharpening, and general tinkering (eg gluing back small pieces). Sometimes we have more specialized help like phone and computer repair, 3D printing of small parts, and jewelry repair.
Repairs are free (occasionally you may have to bring or buy your own replacement part), and labour is donated out of kindness.
Our Facebook event page will list available repairers shortly before each event. We encourage you to read our House Rules (scroll down a little to find them) before you come, but we’ll also have copies there on the day.
What if I can’t make it on that date or to that location?
Good news! There are several repair cafés around Canberra (see the full list here).
Why have this activity?
We’re committed to increasing the use of household items that are already out there in the world, and minimising the need to buy new and replacement things. Repairing items, where possible, is a great way to do this and keep waste out of landfill.
Volunteer repairers offer their skills for free so you only need to pay for any significant parts that might be required. You save money by keeping the item, having it repaired for free, and (when possible) learning about diagnosing problems and fixing them yourself.
Why is it called a “café”?
Repair Café International came up with the name for their first repairing event in Amsterdam in 2009. You can read more here.
How can I get involved?
We love to hear from new prospective volunteers!
We need two kinds of volunteers at the repair café:
General helpers
Tasks might include:
setting up and packing up
welcoming customers
helping match repairs to repairers
answering questions
You don’t need repairing skills to be a helper! You will need to get a Working With Vulnerable People Card - this is free and available from Access Canberra.
Read more about volunteering as a Repair Cafe Helper here.
Repairers
Repairers fix items, give advice on repairs, and may teach people how to complete repairs themselves where appropriate. Repairers are needed for:
textiles and garments
electrical items
tech such as mobile phones
bicycles
outdoor tools such as lawnmowers
knife sharpening
jewellery repairs
toys
You must hold an appropriate license if you want to repair electrical items, and you’ll need to get a Working With Vulnerable People Card - this is free and available from Access Canberra.
If you have other repair skills not listed, please do let us know. We’d love to be able to offer a wide variety.
Read more about volunteering as a Repairer here.
Time commitment
The repair café takes place monthly, but you don’t have to make a monthly commitment. Whatever help you can offer would be appreciated. We’d encourage you to consider at least every other month, if you can!
Ready to register? Head to our Repair Café volunteer form*
Still have questions before you commit? No worries! Contact us any time.
* If you already have a volunteer account with us, you can update your preferences by logging in and going to the MY PROFILE tab on the top right. Select Interests and choose your preferences. Then, if you are a repairer, go to Additional Info and list your skills and interests in the Repair Skills box.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the repair café or about becoming a volunteer, please contact us.
