We’re still learning

 Weymouth’s Repair Cafe continues to go from strength to strength. In June we had our second event at The Palm House Cafe. It was fantastic see the local community turn out in force with broken items they would like to save from landfill. We were busy from before we opened to long after we should have closed. It’s pleasing, in our modern day throwaway society, to see so many items, from a Spectrum computer to musical instruments, from tools to clocks, being given a new lease of life.

The first two events have been outstanding, but it has also come with inevitable teething issues. We are all new to this and will continue to improve with every event.

I like numbers so I’d thought I’d share a few with you. The first event saw 85 visitors arrive with items they hoped could be saved. 12 volunteer repairers manned the tables, eager to fix the items brought in. Divided equally, each volunteer would have seen 7 items and had 17 minutes to work on it. However, it’s not as simple as this. Different volunteers specialise in different areas. You wouldn’t expect a sewing volunteer to be able to fix an iron (yes we’ve had irons… we’ll try and fix anything after all). Also, some repairs needed longer than 20 minutes to complete. Sometimes just getting the cover off proved to be the hardest part of the repair process.

Part of the ethos of a Repair Cafe is about local people gathering together to learn how to repair broken items which prevents items being sent to landfill. If an item can’t easily be repaired the visitor would be advised to see a professional. We’re not here to take work away from local trade’s people but about taking on the smaller jobs, and anything which is beyond our skills we want to be able to point you in the direction of a professionals that can help.

Over the summer the committee will work hard on ideas for improving visitor experience, including for people who arrive early, and how Repair Cafe benefit everyone in Weymouth. Our next event is on 14th September 2019. We hope to see you there.

Carla