Repair Café

Repair Events

Repair Cafes are starting up again. Many are outside, some are partly outside and partly inside, and others are inside.

The event organizer will publish the format along with the mask and other COVID rules. Contact the organizer listed in the calendar for details.

There are also some virtual Repair Cafes, typically using Zoom.

Repair Cafés Help with Fixes, Build Community

At the Repair Cafés, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley with help from Bolton Local, everything centers on making repairs. By promoting repairs, Bolton Local wants to help reduce mountains of waste. Organizer Ray Pfau says, “We throw away lots of things that often have almost nothing wrong with them, things that could easily be used again after a simple repair. Unfortunately, many people have forgotten that they can have things fixed. Repair Café wants to change all that.”

Repair Cafés are also meant to put neighbors in touch with each other in a new way, to help people save money, and to help people discover that a lot of know-how and practical skills can be found close to home. Pfau says: “If you repair a bike, a CD player or a pair of trousers together with a previously unfamiliar neighbor, you look at that person in a different light the next time you see them. Jointly making repairs can lead to connections in the community.”

Unlike a “fix-it” shop, where people might drop off items to be repaired and continue about their day, Repair Cafés are meant to get people involved with the repair process and help them connect with others in the community. People bringing in items for repair are asked to stay while their items are being fixed. They can either help with the repair, watch, fix the item themselves with help from volunteers, or just have a snack and visit with neighbors.

The Repair Cafés are staffed by knowledgeable volunteers, who help make all possible repairs on things like small appliances, computers, lamps, bikes, and clothing—free of charge. (Some small parts may be supplied, such as wire or thread; other parts will be paid for by the owner of the item.) If the owner of the item knows what part or parts are needed, it will save time if the owner can obtain the part ahead of time and bring it to the Repair Café event.

The Bolton Repair Café is associated with the Repair Café Foundation. This Amsterdam organization has been organizing Repair Cafés in the Netherlands since 2010, and since January 2011 has provided support to local groups in and outside the Netherlands wishing to start their own Repair Cafés.

Repair Café in the News!

Write up and photos from Bolton Repair Café on Jan 11, 2020

Write up, video, and photos of the Bolton Repair Café on Nov 9, 2019

Write up, video, and photos of the Bolton Repair Café on Jun 1, 2019

Write up, video, and photos of the Bolton Repair Café on Jan 26, 2019

Washington Post.article about Repair Cafés Jan, 2019

Watch the Worcester Cable TV station (WCCA) video about the Bolton Repair Cafe from Jan, 2018

Read the Worcester Telegram and Gazette article about the Jan, 2018 Repair Cafe

Listen to WICN Public Radio interview from Sep, 2017

Read the New York Times on Repair Cafes from Jan, 2017

Read the Boston Globe article from May 2016

Listen to WICN Public Radio Interview from Mar, 2015