Waste is all around us, just a visit to the Segensworth Recycling will show you how disposable our society has become. So if you have bought something that you love using and it’s not working, then the Repair Cafe concept is the best way to reduce our waste and use of our planet’s limited resources.
When I originally looked at whether EcoTitchfield could run a Repair Cafe, there were numerous barriers to entry for us:
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Extra insurance at between £250 and £350 per annum
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Tools to do the repairs
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More importantly, the volunteers with the knowledge to repair items, including trained PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) to make sure any electrical item is safe to work on
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And that’s before we get to renting halls to run it in!
Our solution to trial the Repair Cafe concept in the village was collaboration, and Gosport Repair Cafe, that has been running for years, was open to the idea of a one-off trial concept in Titchfield. Suffice to say, a plan was hatched that we would host Gosport Repair Cafe, to be run by them with their insurance, equipment, and some of their great volunteers, with EcoTitchfield providing the hall and volunteers to learn from the experience.
My lasting observation of the day is that it is run very focused on the volunteers, who are an amazing bunch of knowledgeable people giving up their time as long as they have fun and enjoy helping others keep their cherished items running. The shared ethos and collaboration of knowledge was inspiring to watch, and the smiles on the faces of those who brought items said it all to me.
There was a steady flow throughout the two hours that we were open, and 24 items were brought in by villagers. For those who like statistics, 21 items were electrical, vacuum cleaners being the most popular. Of the 24, 10 items were fixed by the Repair Cafe, 11 would be repairable (with a correct part, and these parts and how to replace were identified by the repair volunteer), and 3 items were deemed to no longer be repairable. Sad news to the owner of the small kitchen blender, but as it was 50 years old, it had done its fair share of work!
The work is always done in collaboration with the owner, so that risks of disassembly can be explained and also so that the skills of the individual can be improved so that in the future, they may be confident fixing a new part.
All the data, such as description, brand, age of item, identified fault and solution, and repaired or not, are put into a website run by ‘Restarters’, a global network that helps people fix items through community projects. Our fixed items saved 36 Kg of waste going up to Segensworth, which, based on calculations, saved 228 kg of CO2 emissions, as the items do not need to be replaced with new items. But for me, the statistics were just part of the day with the smiles on the faces of those repairing the items and on those that had brought them in. It may be an item that you just need to work on, such as an electric can opener, for others, it may be a cherished item that now works, but the smiles say it all.
To complete the loop on electrical items, they were PAT tested before being worked on and are tested again before being released, as safety is a core aspect of these Repair Cafes. Donations are made by the owners of the items to contribute to the hall, teas, cakes, etc., as this is definitely a village social event as well as practical.
So what is next for EcoTitchfield and its own Repair Cafe? Firstly, we need to find a volunteer with probably an engineering background. If we can find this person to lead the Titchfield Repair Cafe, then help /collaboration from Gosport Repair Cafe will reduce the barriers to starting our own, as well as some of the repairers have said they would like to be involved.
If you think you may be the person we are looking for, then drop info@ecotitchfiled.co.uk an email and learn more about the project and how it puts smiles on the faces of the Titchfield village community.
Rob Andrews, August 2025
Credit for pictures to Rob and Ross Underwood www.posbrookpics.uk
