Sustainable Carlisle are proud to support the wonderful Carlisle Repair Cafe who saw a real need in their community and decided to take action, exactly the sort of thing Sustainable Carlisle cherish to see in our city.
Carlisle Repair Cafe was created to help people repair things instead of throwing them away, to reduce unnecessary production of things, reduce the volume of rubbish that goes to landfill and to save people money.
Get the latest news and events on their facebook page: www.facebook.com/CarlisleRepairCafe
Carlisle Repair Cafe is open from 10am until 1pm at Botcherby Community Centre on the first Saturday of the month.
The Repair Cafe also plays host to a regular clothes swap, if you’ve got a top, a dress, some shoes, whatever, that just aren’t doing it for you, maybe they’re someone else’s dream. Bring them in and take home something that does do it for you.
Imagine a hoover purchased only two years ago that has stopped working already, it’s just out of warranty so the manufacturer won’t help. Replacing the hoover adds to the demand for hoovers; effectively one more is made. It takes energy to make it, energy to ship it across the world and energy to drive to the shop and buy it. Most of this energy comes from burning fossil fuels and contributes to climate change. The old hoover is likely to be sent to landfill where it will take hundreds of years to decompose, and finally, the owner of the hoover is at least £100 worse off. Now apply this concept to everything you own, clothes, toys, appliances, everything. The cause of a lot of item malfunctions is repairable at home and there are specialists that can help with those that are not.
With invaluable support from Penrith Repair Cafe, Sustainable Carlisle, Cumbria Actions for Sustainability and a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund and ZCC Community Climate Grants, the repair cafe is run by a group of local volunteers who will help people from the community fix their broken possessions; saving the world and lots of money.
Everyone is invited to bring their broken possessions, no matter what they are or how old they are. The volunteers will try their best to help and if they can’t fix it they will give you some helpful advice on what to do next.
Some examples of things you might bring in are:
Household appliances
Garden tools
Clothes, in need of mending or alteration
Toys and games
Furniture
Bicycles
