The first Repair Café was initiated by Martine Postma in Fijnhout Theater, Amsterdam-West. on 18 October 2009. Martine had been striving for sustainability at a local level in many ways – as a journalist, publicist, local politician, entrepreneur, citizen, and consumer. Her special focus had always been to decrease the amount of waste we produce as a society.
Four and a half months later, tin March 2010, the Repair Café Foundation was set up to support local groups around the world in setting up their own Repair Cafés. Repair cafés are community events where people can get help to fix broken things for free, things that may otherwise be sent to landfill.
Repair Cafés reduce greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprints and waste. By extending the lifespan of products, they prevent the unnecessary disposal of items and contribute to a more sustainable future and are superior to recycling. Volunteer experts fix clothing, electrical items such as bikes, gardening equipment, furniture and usually talk people through the repair as it happens.
The nearest Repair Café to my home is Mud Island, North Strand, Dublin 3 which runs a Repair Cafe about once a month. Maybe other Eco-Congregation Friends could share information about Repair Cafés around the country or may feel led to set up a Repair Café in their own community?