Napier Repair Cafe to celebrate International Repair Day
Napier's newest cafe will celebrate International Repair Day, with locals encouraged to bring in old, broken and torn items needing extra TLC.
The Napier Repair Cafe is a monthly pop-up event run by Sustainable Napier and held at Asher Hall on the corner of Dalton and Tennyson Streets between 11.30am and 2.30pm.
The cafe will join 2200 Repair Cafes operating around the globe, and 37 across Aotearoa to celebrate International Repair Day on Saturday.
They will also live stream from the event for Repair Cafe Aotearoa New Zealand’s special ‘The Repair Show’ -an online event to showcase Repair Cafes from around Aotearoa that are running on the day.
Helen Howard, who runs the Repair Cafe under Sustainable Napier, says it's a way of raising awareness around repair and how in our throwaway society it is important to value and look after our possessions.
"There is no such thing as 'away'. 'Away' normally means landfill and should be our last option for where our items end up.
"It is also an opportunity for people to learn repair skills from the repairers at the Repair Cafes. Repairers can show people how to sew on a button or darn a sock or fix a puncture on their bicycle tube. These are skills that have quite often been lost."
Jewellery, general household items and bicycles, and electrical and small appliances can be repaired. Machine and hand sewing for clothing and soft furnishings will also be available, and for the first time there will be an area for book repair, specialising in children's books.
Since launching on June 25, volunteers have repaired more than 159 items, with a replacement value of close to $9000.
Howard says the items would have otherwise gone to the landfill.
"Our more than 30 volunteers have baked delicious cakes, slices and cookies, poured coffee (provided by our generous sponsors Switch Coffee Roasters), and fixed clothing, bicycles, electrical appliances, clocks, jewellery, toys and other household items, all while sharing their skills and expertise with the community."
The cafe is supported by Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Keep Napier Beautiful. Entrance is free, but a koha is encouraged to cover the cost of refreshments or any successful repair.
The cafe also runs a fun tamariki zone with toys and colouring in for children, as well as a ‘take apart table’ where children can take electrical items apart to find out what makes them tick. A Sustainable Library has books that people can take and return the following month or pass on. Topics focus on climate change, sustainable living, repair, gardening, veganism, environmentalism, zero waste and minimalism.
The final Repair Cafe for 2022 will be run on Saturday, November 26. It will return on Saturday, February 25 and continue on the last Saturday of every month in 2023 until November.
Any enquiries can be directed to Helen at sustainablenapier@gmail.com
