Would you like to set up a repair café?

Due to the Covid-19 oubtreak, this programme has been put on hold. If you would like to be contacted once it is relaunched, please get in touch with us: repaircafe@cagoxfordshire.org.uk

Repair cafes are community events which match people with broken household and personal electrical and electronic items with skilled people who like fixing things. The purpose of these events is to bring about a shift away from consumerism and viewing household items as disposable. The focus is on skill-sharing and building community, as attendees will be invited to learn how to fix their broken item alongside the repairers instead of throwing them in the bin.

Support available for new repair cafes: Following on from our previously successful project to set up and support repair cafes in Oxfordshire, Community Action Groups (CAG) Oxfordshire has secured further funding to support the existing network of repair cafes and the set-up of new repair cafes. There is a specific focus on increasing repair of portable, domestic and personal electricals.

The support we can offer includes:

1. Access to repair cafe ‘how-to’ resources

2. Support with publicizing repair events

3. 16 free training sessions from on how to do repairs. There are 4 sessions: PAT testing, soldering and fixing, fault finding and complex repairs. These will be delivered in four locations across Oxfordshire.

4. 20 hours of ‘peer mentoring’ from an experienced repair cafe organiser.

5. £120 grant for organising your first 2 events:

6. Venue hire: £50 per event (£100 total)

7. Expenses for volunteers: £10 per event (£20 total)

8. Access to a repair cafe toolkit (including tools, spare parts, and a PAT tester)

About this project:

This work is part of a wider partnership project aiming to boost community-led repair of electricals across Oxfordshire, involving Oxfordshire County Council, Bicester Green, Orinoco and CAG Oxfordshire. Bicester Green and Orinoco will operate as ‘Repair hubs’ where residents can bring items for repair for their own use or for resale. In addition, Bicester Green will run 12 monthly ‘Dr Spark’ repair cafe events at their site. If you’re interested in setting up a repair cafe or want to find out more, get in touch with us at repaircafe@cagoxfordshire.org.uk We have also set up a facebook page where people can find out about repair events happening across Oxfordshire, as well as a website.