A broken coffee pod machine, blunt secateurs, ripped jeans and a jumper with a hole in it, a fan that didn’t blow and a radio that had conked out. These were just a few of the 25 items brought to the first 'dry run' session of the Petersfield Repair Café on 28th February, at which over 40 volunteers were involved.

Most were fixed well within the two hour session, but in a few cases advice was given on how to source parts or get a professional repair from one of the excellent local businesses. The odd item was condemned to the tip - sadly inevitable given the designed obsolescence of many products - but at least the owner could be confident that repair was not feasible.

Find out more about the soft launch from lead PeCAN trustee Andrew Lee...

Repair Café is a new venture for PeCAN, and we have been very fortunate both in the number of people who have come forward to help and in the advice and support in the run-up and on the day from established Repair Cafés in nearby Buriton, Harting, and Havant. Petersfield Men's Shed has been extremely helpful with both advice and volunteers. We are also working in partnership with the Women's Institute, whose formidable team ran the refreshments side with a constant supply of delicious cakes and drinks!

pecan representatives welcome visitors to the repair cafe

Held at the Avenue Pavilion, close to the town centre, the event was friendly, vibrant and bustling. The set up was tested by a number of 'mystery shoppers' who had been asked to bring items for mending, and to give feedback. After checking in their items with the welcome team, visitors were free to wander, socialise (and eat cake) before seeing the relevant repair team. We had three repair stations. On one side of the hall there was a team of four undertaking general repairs, woodworking and tool maintenance. At the far end, three repairers tackled electrical items, and under the windows three more volunteers ran sewing machines. At the check-out desk, forms were gathered in, items weighed and feedback and donations given.

Feedback on the day was overwhelmingly positive, with plenty of helpful suggestions to further improve the operation of the Repair Café ahead of the first fully public event on Saturday 28th March. We invite you to please come along with something to fix, and encourage your friends to do the same! We are also looking for more volunteers – both repairers and general helpers – so if you are interested please get in touch. The Repair Café will then be open on the last Saturday afternoon of each month, initially until November, but with hopes to make it permanent.

The benefits of Repair Cafés are many. Of course, the data gathered will be used to estimate the carbon savings and amount of waste diverted from landfill due to successful repairs. With global supply chains, most of the environmental impact of the 'stuff' we use is hidden, and fixing rather than chucking out and replacing really matters. But Repair Cafés are also a social space, and a place where we can learn and share skills which are rapidly being lost. Having the ability and confidence to change a plug, darn a sock or glue a toy back together successfully gives us all agency and is a small step towards more community resilience and a lighter footprint on the Earth. It is also deeply satisfying!