This Saturday Upper Hutt Repair Café is celebrating a year of serving the Upper Hutt community and educating locals on repair skills through regular events. Now a registered charity, the volunteers have established themselves as an Upper Hutt staple and centre for repair education.

“This Saturday marks a year since we began,” says co-founder Linda Martin. “We will be focussing on back-to-school repair- it can be an expensive time for parents if they need to replace worn items with new. We aim to help parents and students fix buttons, hem uniforms and learn bike repair or maintenance so they can be prepared for the new school year.”

Repair skills are shared though one-on-one assistance from experienced volunteers who provide their own tools for use. Over two-thirds of broken or damaged items brought in by locals will be successfully repaired at the event. Koha is appreciated as payment.

The focus is on teaching repair skills in the process and education around maintenance and responsible recycling of consumer goods. Upper Hutt Repair Cafe aims to support a circular economy and build resilience in locals by normalising repair, and providing access to skill education for everyone.

“Last year exceeded all expectations,” explains Chairperson Lisa Crawford. “The local community really came out to support the initiative. The volume and talent of volunteers we had sign on blew us away. We have all enjoyed introducing the Repair Café concept to the local community and are looking forward to what Saturday and the rest of this year brings.”

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