Towcester Repair Café goes from strength to strength
Started back in September 2022, the Towcester Repair Café is now a regular fixture on the fourth Saturday of each month, from 1000-1200, at Renew 169 on Watling Street in Towcester.
2024 was a very busy year for the Repair Café, which saw 63 volunteers giving 126 hours of their time to repair 150 items for 99 customers and raise £1000 from donations towards the running of Renew 169.
The team can turn their hands to just about anything and can repair small electrical/kitchen appliances, radios, CD and DVD players, vacuum cleaners, toys, clocks, woodworking and furniture, sewing and clothes repairs and bicycles in the warmer months.
The Repair Café concept started in Amsterdam back in 2009, with the simple idea we should not be throwing things away that could be repaired to prolong their life.
But it is now difficult to find places that can carry out repairs and often they are more extensive to fix than to buy a new item.
That’s where the Repair Café comes in, bringing together volunteers from the local community who can share their technical and craft skills to breathe new life into damaged and faulty household appliances, clothes and furniture.
Repair Cafes work on many levels that are relevant to today – they extend the life of products that would otherwise be thrown away and save the owners the cost of replacement.
There is no charge for us to look at faulty items and the team will access and fault-find to determine if it is repairable. If it is, then we only ask for the owner to cover the cost of any spare parts if needed - all the labour is free and provided by the volunteers and many customers leave us a donation that help with the running costs.
So, if you have any broken or faulty items that you would like us to take a look at, please bring them along to one of our regular repair sessions held at Renew 169 at 169 Watling Street, Towcester, from 1000-1200, that we have coming up on 26 July, 30 August, 27 September, and 25 October.