There’s a Repair Cafe happening somewhere in Cambridgeshire most weekends. Each is run by a different community group. Find upcoming dates below and book an item in for repair. With a 64% average repair rate, you’re more likely to get an item fixed than not!

What is a Repair Cafe?

Repair Cafes are community events that match people who need stuff fixed, with people who like fixing things. The international Repair Cafe movement started in Amsterdam in 2009. There are now over in 600 Repair Cafes in the UK and over 3,000 internationally. Repair Cafes are non-commercial and focus on bringing people together to share skills and reduce the environmental burden of consumption.

What types of things can I bring along?

Most Repair Cafes will accept: household electrical items, toys, clothes, bikes, jewellery, tools, soft furnishings, bags and more, but this will vary from one Repair Cafe to the next depending on the skills of the volunteer repairers available. Here are some more details on what sort of items we accept:

  • We're not professional repairers and so do best with items that do not carry high sentimental or financial value. As explained in our Repair Agreement, your item may be broken further during the course of the repair.
  • Our repair slots are usually 45 minutes long. More complex repairs may require more than one visit e.g. we may identify the fault at one Repair Cafe and recommend that you buy a spare part to complete the repair at the next Repair Cafe.
  • We don’t accept some items on safety grounds, for example microwaves and old TVs can hold a charge and so are not accepted at our Repair Cafes
  • We want to promote local repair businesses, such as local mobile phone and computer repair shops, so we may direct you to them rather than offering to repair your item for free. That said, if you’d struggle with the cost of a professional repair, just let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
  • There are some limitations to the types of repairs that we can take on due to our insurance, for example, we can use soldering irons and heat guns but not other heat processes such as welding.

Is it free?

Yes, all our repairs are free. Repairers volunteer their time to help people get things fixed. We welcome donations to support our growing network and different groups fundraise at Repair Cafes for all sorts of local causes.

Do I need to book in advance?

Each Repair Cafe is organised by a different community group so expect some variation. Most Repair Cafes will have a booking system e.g. a link to an online form or an email address for you to book items in in advance. To increase the likelihood of fixing your item, please give the organisers as much detail as you can about the fault and anything you've already tried to fix it.

Repairs may over-run and you may have to wait a little even if you have a booking. Nearly all Repair Cafes will also leave a portion of slots for walk-ins on the day so, even if you don’t manage to book in, you may still be able to get something fixed on the day!

What should I expect on the day?

When you arrive at the Repair Cafe, you’ll be asked to sign a copy of our Repair Agreement which sets out our house rules. If there is anything that you are uncomfortable with, please speak to the organiser before getting your item seen. When your repairer is ready, you’ll be asked to bring your item to their repair bench. Your slot will usually be about 45mins long (although this can vary across Repair Cafes). We ask that you stay with your repairer, or at least within the Repair Cafe, whilst your item is being fixed so that you can see what’s involved in the repair.

What about spare parts?

Repairers will have access to common low-cost items (e.g. screws, clips, batteries, fuses etc) in our shared toolkit, which they may provide free of charge.  If you need something more substantial, the repairer will help you to identify the part, and suggest where you might be able to order it. You can then bring the broken item and spare part along to the next Repair Cafe.

Will my item be PAT tested?

If your item has a mains plug then it needs to be PAT tested before it leaves the Repair Cafe. The organisers will confirm whether your item needs to be PAT tested and mark the appropriate box on the Repair Agreement. It is your responsibility to take the item to the PAT test table to be tested after the repair. Failure to do this will mean your item is not covered by our insurance. You can read our PAT test policy here.

Get something fixed

Find an upcoming Repair Cafe

To book an item in for repair, click on the listing of the Repair Cafe that you would like to visit. Most Repair Cafes open bookings about 1-2 months in advance.

    • Rustat Neighbourhood Association
    • Rustat Neighbourhood Association
    • Back by popular demand!Rustar Neighbourhood AssociationRepair Cafe - matching experienced repairers with people who need stuff fixedTea and cake availableWe...
    • Sat 9 Nov 2024, 9:30am - 12:30pm
    • Fulbourn Repair Cafe
    • Fulbourn Repair Cafe
    • The Fulbourn Repair Cafe team will be back in November, ready to fix your broken electrical items, bikes, clothes, jewellery,...
    • Sat 9 Nov 2024, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
    • Fulbourn
    • Littleport Repair Cafe
    • Littleport Repair Cafe
    • The Littleport Repair Cafe team will be back with their forth Repair Cafe this year on the 16th November. Repairers...
    • Sat 16 Nov 2024, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
    • Ely
    • The Elf Repair Cafe at the Grand Arcade!
    • The Elf Repair Cafe at the Grand Arcade!
    • This Repair Cafe will have a distinctly festive feel with our experienced repairers embracing the tradition of repair for which...
    • Sun 17 Nov 2024, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
    • Cambridge
    • 2G3S Repair Cafes
    • 2G3S Repair Cafes
    • Sawston Repair CafeSat 23 Nov 2024, 2:00pm – 5:00pmBring along your broken item and a skilled volunteer will help you...
    • Sat 23 Nov 2024, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
    • Cambourne Repair Cafe
    • Cambourne Repair Cafe
    • Cambourne’s 7th Repair Cafe will occur on Saturday, November 30th between 11am and 2pm. Location: The Hub Community Centre (Main Hall),...
    • Sat 30 Nov 2024, 11:00am - 2:00pm
    • 2G3S Repair Cafes
    • 2G3S Repair Cafes
    • Great Shelford Repair CafeBring along your broken item and a skilled volunteer will help you fix it! We can tackle a...
    • Sat 22 Feb 2025, 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Why repair?

The stuff that we use every day carries a high environmental burden due to resource extraction, processing, product manufacture and transport. Pre-use emissions account for 84% of the lifecycle emissions of a blender, 79% of the lifecycle emissions of a mobile phone and 73% of lifecycle emissions of our clothes. We have become used to a high churn of household items to support our lifestyles, because our stuff fails quickly, because we find it hard to get things fixed and because our preferences change over time. So much so, that in the UK we generate the second highest amount of e-waste per person globally. But there are fruitful opportunities for change at the community and individual level: 64% of items that are brought to our Repair Cafes are fixed then-and-there in a 45 min slot, and there is plenty more potential for repair and reuse with almost half of the electricals sent for recycling either fully usable or economical to repair.

Supporters

Thank you to our sponsors who support the vibrant community repair movement in Cambridgeshire