Don’t send broken household items to the landfill, bring them to North Saanich’s new Repair Café!
A group of local citizens joined together in early 2020 to help North Saanich residents fix broken household items — lamps, small appliances, clothes, bikes, furniture and toys. The best part is, it’s free!
Repair Café North Saanich officially launched in July 2020 in collaboration with the North Saanich Flavour Trails Festival. The North Saanich “Café” is one of over 2200 Repair Cafe’s around the world. For more information on how the whole movement began, please check out Repair Café International.
“Repairing is even better than recycling,” says founder and organizer, Marlyn Davis. “Sometimes things which have practically nothing wrong with them, and which could easily be used again after a simple repair, get tossed. Repair Café North Saanich is changing that.”
The Repair Café features “Fixers”, local residents with a knack for repairing who are willing to lend their knowledge and show fellow citizens how to carry out repairs. “The Repair Café allows our volunteers to share their experience and talents and give back to the community,” commented volunteer coordinator, Susan McDonald. “It’s a fun, collaborative environment and all are welcome. A wide range of items — from a popcorn maker to a power washer to clothing items and bikes – have already been successfully repaired!”
Combining volunteerism, education, social inclusivity, ‘sharing economy’ practices, and sustainable action, Repair Café North Saanich is part of the circular economy, teaching its principles from the bottom up.
Over 90 items were repaired at the six repair cafes held in 2020, from July to October.
After a hiatus necessitated by provincial health restrictions, Repair Cafe North Saanich was back in action starting on July 16th, 2021 operated monthly through to November.
Since its launch, organizers have had COVID-19 measures in place to keep the community safe and will continue to adapt to meet public health guidelines and recommendations.
For more information or to volunteer contact repaircafenorthsaanich@gmail.com. Watch the trailer at https://youtu.be/mDfKbX53bKI
