Repair Café

Why it MattersBy setting up a Repair Café in your town or city, you can actively contribute to a more sustainable society. You can help create a society where everyone can find a place, where repair expertise is cherished and passed on, and where valuable raw materials are used in a responsible way.

The Repair Café Foundation has the following goals: a) to bring back repairing into local society in a modern way; b) to maintain repair expertise and to spread this knowledge;c) to promote social cohesion in the local community by connecting neighbours from very different backgrounds and with different motives with each other through an inspiring and low-key event.The BackgroundThe Repair Café concept comes from the Netherlands. It was formulated in 2009 by Martine Postma, at the time an Amsterdam-based journalist/publicist. She hit on the idea of setting up low-key meeting places nationwide where neighbours could repair their broken items themselves supported by specialists and in a relaxed atmosphere. The very first Repair Café was held in Amsterdam on 18 October 2009. Dozens of neighbours and interested people from further afield showed up at the foyer of the Fijnhout Theatre that Sunday, where a host of volunteer repair experts were at the ready with tools and materials. The afternoon was a great success; the initiative had obviously tapped into a clear need. This prompted Martine to continue her activities and to start the Repair Café Foundation. Since 2011, this foundation has provided support to local groups in the Netherlands and other countries wishing to start their own Repair Café.