Recycle Devon, a partnership of Devon council’s which includes us, is holding its biggest Repair Café ever in Exeter to celebrate International Repair Day on October 21.
We’re inviting residents to bring their broken or worn out electrical items, clothes, textiles, laptops, bikes, mechanical goods and furniture to be fixed by expert repairers.
Tools and knives can also be sharpened. The event is being held at America Hall, De La Rue Way, Exeter, EX4 8PX from 10am – 1pm.
Our event will see 19 volunteers from Devon-wide Repair Cafés including High Bickington & Atherington, Blackdown Hills, Honiton, Chudleigh and Sidmouth, and community reuse centre Proper Job, come together to create a huge Repair Café where visitors can bring their items and learn how they are fixed whilst enjoying a hot drink and slice of cake.
International Repair Day is an annual event, organised by the Open Repair Alliance, now in its seventh year. This year’s theme is “Repair for Everyone”, highlighting that repair information shouldn’t be limited to professional repairers alone, but shared with Repair Cafés and everyday consumers.
As well as offering repairs, representatives from Suez UK and Community Action Group (CAG) Devon will be on hand to chat about reuse and community action.
Visitors can also find out more about Exeter’s Library of Things, which has a wide range of items available for the general public to borrow including power tools, hand tools, household and leisure items.
Exeter’s Devon Real Nappy Project advisor, Jen Harris, will be available to talk to parents and parents-to-be about the benefits of using reusable nappies and provide more information about the free trial kits available. There will also be information and advice on choosing and using reusable menstrual products.
Councillor Roger Croad, Chair of the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee, said:
“Repairing instead of throwing away reduces waste, conserves resources and saves money. It makes good sense environmentally and financially. It’s also a fantastic way of bringing people together and passing on knowledge – you may even learn a new skill! Mending items has become a lost art for some, but in Devon we have a thriving repair culture with volunteers sharing their knowledge across the county at regular events.”
If you can’t attend on the day, there are plenty of ways that everyone can celebrate at home too. These include:
- repair an item that you’ve had lying around for a while. If you need help, visit your nearest Repair Café at their next event
- share your experience and post a photo/video of your repair on social media using the hashtag #RepairDay #RepairforEveryone. This could be a positive experience of repair, or a frustrating one, anything that tells the story of why you want more support for repair for everyone
- encourage your family and friends to do the same
- pass on your knowledge by helping someone else with a repair
- support a local repair business.
The Repair Café event also kicks off Recycle Devon’s Reuse Week which runs from 21-27th October. Follow Recycle Devon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to find out more.
Repair Cafés and many other community groups such as community fridges and plastic free communities are supported by CAG Devon, a project funded by Devon County Council. CAG Devon provides free training, skill share events, access to reduced insurance rates, help with risk assessments, promotional support and much more. For more information about becoming a member, visit info@cagdevon.org.uk. Devon County Council’s Reuse Officer also offers support to Repair Cafes and small grants are available to fund their development.