A repair café is to open in Harrogate.
The initiative, which is part of an international movement, promotes repairing items as an alternative to throwing things away.
People are encouraged to come along with broken items and get them fixed on the spot with the help of volunteer repairers.
There are over 2,500 repair cafés worldwide, with the closest ones currently in Leeds and Thirsk. The initiative was created by Dutch woman Martine Postma and the first repair café event took place in Amsterdam in 2009.
The Harrogate café is looking for residents with different skills to act as repair experts during the monthly meetings.
Organisers are seeking people who can repair clothing, textiles, electrical appliances, electronics, jewellery, and furniture, wooden objects.
Volunteers are also needed to act as hosts at the meetings; to serve as a contact point for visitors and repairers, as well as serving refreshments.
William Sanders, organiser of Harrogate Repair Café, said:
“Following the success of similar projects in Leeds, We’re excited to put Harrogate on the map of a huge and growing network of repair cafés.
“We’d love to stop things going to landfill, by helping the community to get things fixed, as well as giving volunteers the rewarding opportunity to meet like-minded people and share their skills.”
The Harrogate Repair Café group on Facebook was created last week and already has already amassed over 200 members. Mr Sanders said he was “very pleased” by the response.
Mr Sanders is an events organiser from Harrogate who began volunteering at the Leeds Repair Café.
He specialises in fixing electrical items and said the café often se people bring items such as clothes, coffee machines, hair straighteners and air fryers.
He added:
“I thought it would be something good for Harrogate. The town needs some more community based things and Harrogate has the right demographic. At the Leeds Repair Café we see a lot of older people or people with mobility issues with lots of things that need repairing.”
“At the moment my main focus is on looking for handy people to become volunteers. It is a great opportunity and gives people a chance to use their skills in a positive way. It is really fun and is such as rewarding process.”
An open meeting is being held for anyone interested in getting involved at the Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade in Harrogate at 3pm on Saturday, May 18, Mr Sanders said he hoped 20 to 30 people would attend.
The Harrogate Repair Café is also seeking sponsors to help donate towards expenses such as PAT tests and insurance.
Anyone interested in getting involved can contact the repair café at harrogaterepaircafe@gmail.com.
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