This page is about how we’re building the repair café: the kit, the safety basics and the playbook. Looking for dates and what to bring? See Repair café in Akaroa — what to bring and when.
What it is
Once a month, same Saturday, same hours, no booking. You bring something broken — a lamp, a toaster, a bike, a toy, a jacket with a split seam. A volunteer sits down with you and you fix it together. You stay with your item and help: it isn’t a drop-off service. It’s free. Donations are welcome, never asked for.
Five tables: electrical and electronics (low voltage), mechanical, textiles, digital (measure, model, print), and the most important one — intake and tea.
What makes this one different
Most repair cafés stop when a small plastic part has broken and can’t be bought any more. Here, that’s where the second half starts: measure it, model it, print it, and publish the file with the make and model in its name. Over a year that becomes a library of spare parts for appliances people in this district actually own.
Every item that leaves repaired gets a small blue tag: réparé ici — repaired here, with the date.
What we can’t take
No mains-side electrical repair by unqualified people, no gas appliances, no damaged lithium batteries, no CRTs, no microwaves, nothing wet or corroded. “I don’t know” is always an acceptable answer from a volunteer.
What we count
Items brought, repaired, needing a part, beyond repair; kilograms kept out of landfill; parts printed; people; volunteer hours. Published every quarter, even when the numbers are small.
Where it stands
Planning. The playbook is written. Before the first session: the safety basics, an intake form, scales, first aid and two briefed volunteers. The first date isn’t set yet. Join the mailing list and you’ll hear first.
Volunteers wanted
Especially someone who sews, someone who knows small engines or clocks, someone retired from a trade, and a teenager who’d like the hours. Offer to help.
Les plans sont gratuits — the plans are free.