Repair Cafe Gosport celebrates spirit of empowerment in saving environment and money on first birthday

‘Last chance saloon’ items set for the scrapheap are saved and given a new lease of life by skilled volunteers who deploy their array of expert skills to fix a wide variety of items that range from your typical household appliances to the bizarre.

But despite the boost to the environment and people’s purses, the Repair Cafe Gosport stands for so much more than a space where old household items avoid being thrown in the bin.

It is a place that embodies the spirit of empowerment to help people become self-reliant and ‘have a go’ without fear of failure. It brings people together in a fun relaxed atmosphere creating a tight-knit community of friendship and camaraderie.

These values have underpinned the success of the repair cafe, which celebrated its whirlwind first-year anniversary at the Community Makerspace Unit 5, Quay Lane, Hardway, this month.

The repair cafe, which opens for four hours once a month on the second Saturday of the month, was set-up after Makerspace founder Paul Cobb thought a repair cafe would fit perfectly alongside the shared community workshop of artists, engineers, makers, thinkers and tinkerers.

David Marks, a freelance IT software developer, agreed and went ahead and launched the not-for-profit Repair Cafe Gosport and has not looked back since. ‘We are a repair cafe and things come to us when they are normally in last chance saloon and about to get thrown away,’ he said.

‘But we are of the mindset of not being afraid to take things apart and try and fix them, even if you do not know what you are doing. Manufacturers will always try and put you off by saying “this will void warranty” so we have to overcome this.

‘We are all about giving people an experience when they get their items fixed. Customers stay while we are fixing the item and we talk through what we are doing.

‘We help the environment and save money but the cafe empowers people to come together, share skills and reduce waste by repairing items that would otherwise be thrown in the bin. It is empowering to help people become self-reliant.

‘People can then transfer those skills to all other areas of their life. The attitude is: don’t be afraid to do it.’

The project started with a £1,400 grant from Hampshire County Council. The cafe has been governed by its volunteers since June.

It is a member of Gosport Voluntary Action (GVA) and is supported by a grant from the Gosport Community Fund.

The cafe is part of an international network of more than 2,000 repair cafes and is a founding member of the Hampshire Repair Café Network, an initiative that aims to support Repair Cafes in Hampshire through sharing information and best practice.

But Repair Cafe Gosport has advantages to many of those. ‘All over the world there are thousands of repair cafes and there are at least a dozen in Hampshire,’ David said.

‘Gosport is distinctive because this cafe is based in a workshop. The repair cafe runs for four hours a month but MAKE Gosport, the community Makerspace, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The leaders and members of MAKE Gosport deserve recognition. The repair cafe is aiming to increase visitor numbers and find more volunteers, so please help and tell everybody about us.’

Items brought in to be repaired range from mini chainsaws to lawn mowers, hot brushes for hair, vacuum cleaners, hoverboards, bikes, shoe soles, brass door knockers and sewing machines - the most popular item.

The cafe has 27 volunteers in total who offer a depth of skills to cater for all the repair needs. One of those, Raji Bhat, said: ‘We enjoy engaging with customers when we repair, which helps them become more motivated and interested.

‘We are seeing more young children coming along who are getting excited and learning a lot. It is very educational.’

Gary Stroud, 74, says he ‘has a go at anything’ but focuses on ‘sharpening things’ from blades to shears and meat cleavers. ‘Blunt tools are far more dangerous than sharp tools. With a blunt tool you need more force to push down and can impale yourself. People today don’t know how to sharpen tools,’ he said.

He added: ‘It’s a good laugh and is good for the environment. All the volunteers help each other a lot.’

During the cafe’s first birthday event, Mark thanked his fellow volunteers for their hard work before deputy mayor of Gosport, councillor Martin Pepper, cut the birthday cake. Also in attendance was Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, as well as other Gosport and Hampshire councillors and community leaders.

Cllr Pepper spoke of the ‘great work’ volunteer groups do in Gosport, before adding: ‘Voluntary organisations have always been very important to me. For the sake of current and future generations, we want to reduce waste.

‘I would prefer people not create waste in the first place but the second best option is to make sure that we renew. Repair Café Gosport is playing a part and I encourage them to stay true to their aims, encourage others to take advantage of their service and get more people to come and help along the way.’

The first annual Impact report, summarising the story of the organisation in its first year, was launched at the event.

Repair Café Gosport also announced it had recently become a signatory to the UK community repair movement’s Manchester Declaration. The declaration asks UK legislators and decision-makers at all levels, as well as product manufacturers and designers, to stand with repair cafés for a Right to Repair: making repair more accessible and affordable.

This was endorsed by Dame Caroline, meaning she joined Hampshire colleagues Penny Mordaunt MP and Caroline Nokes MP in doing so.

Ms Dinenage said: ‘It’s such a great asset to the community and saves money. It’s great for the environment and a great way for the community to come together. There’s a real spirit, there’s something here for everyone.

‘Creativity can have a big impact on your wellbeing and the cafe is the embodiment of that because it’s using your skills and learning new skills. It’s good young people are getting involved. It’s really important we preserve future generations.

‘The repair café is already proving its worth in saving people money and reducing waste. It was great to join the team on their first birthday and learn more about some of the items they repaired and rescued from landfill.’