And here at Mangere Bridge we are preparing for our 11th Repair Café on 18 October 2025 (see here for details)
Friends of the Farm Mangere Bridge held their very first Repair Café in 2022 and will be running their 11th Repair Café (RC) on 18 October 2025. We developed a successful formula back then and have stuck to it.
We have :
- A steady pool of skilled enthusiastic local volunteers
- Support from a loyal group of locals who regularly turn up with items for repair
- A stable organising team made up of Friends of the Farm members
- Support from local café Phnom Penh who provide each volunteer with a free coffee or smoothie
- A constant wastewise message at each RC
These factors, combined with support from our helpful and friendly Library staff make for a winning formula!
John Duffy, CEO of Consumer NZ said recently “ New Zealand has one of the highest rates per person of unwanted electrical waste, with at least 100,000 tonnes thrown out each year.” He is highly supportive of the RC movement which keeps products out of landfill while helping to build and strengthen community spirits. “They are good for the community and good for the environment.” We totally agree with him!
And we appreciate the support from the New Zealand-wide group, Repair Café Aotearoa ( RCANZ). They provide administrative, promotion and advocacy services to the 90 or so RC’s operating throughout New Zealand. Their admin support gives us more time to focus on engaging our community and supporting our volunteers, spreading the Wastewise message.
The 2025 Repair Café Festival will run this year with a week-long celebration from 6-14 September 2025 with a range of events to celebrate and promote repair and reuse instead of discarding items. Check out the RCANZ website on https://www.repaircafeaotearoa.o.nz for more information.
More reading…
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2024 Winter Repair Café – Records Broken#
We wondered, why do skilled locals volunteer their Saturday mornings to diagnose faults and mend household items? Repair Cafes are a worldwide movement, gaining in popularity each year as people try to reduce waste being sent to landfill and repair damaged household items.
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Fixing to fix, repair with care – Māngere Bridge Repair Café#
Bikes, lamps, clothing, pillowcases, books, soft toys, heaters, timers, scissors, knives, loppers, tablets and fans were among the items brought back to life at our Repair Café.
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The Repair Café Movement Continues#
Our 5th Repair Café in Māngere Bridge Library saw pleanty of locals visit with items for repair. The usual foot traffic in the Library was increased by 200 people!
