Repair Cafés are events where residents can bring broken items to be fixed for free by volunteers who are handy and who like tinkering/fixing things, or for volunteers who simply want to help out in the community.
Repair Café Event
Thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday, April 26. We hope to see you at our next Repair Café - stay tuned for more information.
How does the Repair Café event work?
Residents are invited to bring one item per family to be repaired by our skilled Repair Café volunteers. Volunteers will assess the item and determine if the repair is possible.
Upon arrival, participants must complete a Repair Café Registration Form before their item can be accepted. Residents are encouraged to stay nearby during the repair process.
Please note: If your item requires specific parts, you must bring them to the event, as we do not supply parts.
Certain items cannot be repaired, including printers, large appliances, monitors, televisions, lawn mowers, furniture with split wood, and clothing requiring hemming or alterations.
Repair Café Volunteers
We need your help! Join our current group of passionate, skilled and fun volunteers. We are seeking people who can repair:
- Bikes
- Electronics and electrical items
- Furniture
- Small appliances
- Textiles and clothing
Volunteer Perks
- Contributing to the circular economy
- Helping others
- Connecting with like-minded people
- Community hours
If you are interested in helping us, please click through to our Volunteer webpage and sign up.
Repair Cafe's support Coquitlam’s Environmental Sustainability Plan goals of minimizing waste generation and maximizing reuse, recycling and material recovery.
Seeking a Host Organization
We are seeking a local organization interested in running our Repair Café events in the future. We will support the organization by providing event space, funding for tools, supplies, food, volunteer appreciation, advertisement and assistance with volunteer recruitment.
A supporting organization would plan and run the events, coordinate the volunteers, obtain supplies and report back repair statistics from each event. Repair Cafés help build community by encouraging shared knowledge and team work, and reduce waste at the same time, a win-win!
Our Repair Café events have had over 450 participants and 52 wonderful volunteers. Please contact us: Environmental Education.
Repair Café International Foundation
The Repair Café concept arose in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2009, and was formulated by Martine Postma, at the time a journalist/publicist. In 2010, she started the Repair Café International Foundation. This foundation provides professional support to local groups around the world wishing to start their own Repair Café. The foundation also supports the Repair Café in Coquitlam.