Free fixes at Repair Cafe return

ALMOST a year since the organisation’s last event, the Ballarat Repair Cafe returned last Saturday at its new Barkley Square venue.

Cafe working group volunteer Sue Jakob said the movement is about repairing and going against society’s tendency to throw things away when they break.

“Sometimes it turns out it’s actually cheaper to throw something away and buy a new one so that’s what we want to address as well as sustainability and saving things from landfill,” she said.

“Our fixers are all volunteers with expertise and it is a free service, but we do love a donation and people are usually pretty generous.”

People are welcome to bring broken items from electrical wares to clothing to the Repair Cafe on the last Saturday of every month from 1pm to 4pm.

“We register the items and record the weight so we can get a cumulative total of how much we have saved from landfill, so far today we would’ve already saved around 50 kilos,” Ms Jakob said.

“We can’t fix everything but they will have a look and even if they can’t fix it, they can offer some advice and recommend how to fix it.”

After launching in Ballarat in 2019, the group has to settled into the new location among likeminded organisations and businesses.

“As well as the Tool Library there’s a range of other compatible groups here in Barkley Square, so we felt it would be a better venue for us,” Ms Jakob said.

“There’s a couple of volunteers who work for us and for the Tool Library and we’ve helped them with a few things, so there’s a bit of synergy there.”

A volunteer with an affinity for sewing, Liz Wade said she loves being a part of the cafe and helping people to fix their things.

“At the end of the day, we feel like we’ve done so much because we’re fixing a lot of things as a group of people,” she said.

“I saw the first information session and thought it was great to have one starting up locally, I loved the idea right away.”