Repair Café is coming to Karori

By Frank Neill

A repair café, where people can take items they would like to see fixed, is coming to Karori.

The first repair café will be held at the Karori Community Centre from 11am to 2pm on Sunday 21 May.

The Karori Repair Café has a great mission. It seeks to repair broken items to avoid them ending up in the landfill, says Julia Rowling, who initated the project.

Julia is currently working with two volunteers on a variety of tasks to help ensure the upcoming first café is a success.

“I was inspired by the Sustainability Trust Repair Café and also the Ngaio Repair Café,” she says. Another inspiration came from her beginning her masters study in sustainability.

Throwing away things that could be repaired is a “crazy way of doing things,” Julia says.

“We throw things away when there is so much life left in them.

“Waste is just a paradigm. If we looked at things as resources we would have a lot less going to the landfill.”

The repair café is a pop-up koha workshop where people can bring that broken/torn/failing appliance or favourite item and find out if it can be saved from a premature trip to the rubbish tip.

People with a variety of skills will be on hand to help people repair items, or to fix them if helping people to build their repair skills is not possible with particular items.

One person the café organisers have organised already is an electrician from the Sustainability Trust, and they have already also lined up some repair volunteers.

The organisers are also keen to find more people with skills that can repair items.

Electrical, sewing, and computer skills are the core expertise needed, but tool sharpening, jewellery repair, or any other skill that can assess and, where possible, save treasured or useful items from an unnecessary trip to the dump are most welcome.

The café is also very appreciative that the Sustainability Trust will provide an electrician, as the organisers do not have another one, and are very keen to hear from anyone with electrician skills to volunteer.

The organisers are also keen to hear from people who do not have “fix-it” skills but are keen to be involved. There are plenty of other roles involved in running the repair café.

To find out more or to volunteer, people can email karorirepaircafe@gmail.com or message the café on the Karori Repair Café Facebook page.

The Karori Repair Café is a member of the national organisation Repair Café Aotearoa NZ as well as the international organization.