Friends of the Farm held their ninth Repair Café at the Māngere Bridge Library on Saturday 29th March. People poured in, bringing a variety of items for repair by the team of skilled volunteers.
a jacket turned into a sleeveless vest, a 13 year old favourite suitcase repaired, a 65-year-old Kenwood mixer running again
85 items were repaired, of which 13 were powered. Altogether this prevented 144kg of waste from landfill and 1147kg of CO 2 emissions. That’s the equivalent of planting and nurturing 19 tree seedlings for ten years. 9 other items were recycled, and another 10 items will be repaired when parts are obtained.
Socks and knitted toys were darned, jackets and dresses were mended by Cheryl and Kathrina, and Trent and Josh sorted out IT and printer queries.
Local knife sharpeners Celeste and Schulk were back and kept busy. Luke Haitoua from Duke Cycles worked on many bikes, and local electricians Mark and Joel from Mark Swords Electrical dealt with a range of electrical appliances. A new volunteer, Kevin, ably handled a variety of general repairs.
While items were being repaired, customers and repairers chatted and discussed them. People enjoyed tea, coffee, and homemade cookies while they waited. As usual, the volunteers were kept refreshed with a free coffee or smoothie generously donated by the local café, Phnom Penh.
And who was the happiest customer at the Repair Cafe? The volunteers certainly enjoyed the challenge of fixing things and testing their skills. There was a huge range of successful repairs, including a jacket turned into a sleeveless vest, a 13 year old favourite suitcase repaired, a 65-year-old Kenwood mixer running again, an office chair that had two new castors affixed ( the owner had the foresight to bring the replacement castors) plus more simple fixes like the replacement rake handle. But no one was as delighted as the young boy whose bike was fixed. He couldn’t stop grinning.
The next Repair Café will be held on Saturday, 19th July 2025.
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