Source: Auckland Council
The Repair Café is run by the Chinese Conservation and Education Trust using funding from the
Albert-Eden Local Board, which makes climate action and protecting the natural environment a priority.
Board chair Margi Watson says funding activities at the local level helps residents to ‘live lightly’ so that they reduce their own impact on the environment.
“In a society that’s increasingly geared to throwing things out as soon as the don’t work well, Repair Café is great not only because it helps reduce waste and shares skills, but also because it’s a place where people are able to connect with each other in a social setting.”
Finding the staff for the café is no easy task, but a recent call on the Chinese community’s WeChat social media network prompted four qualified electricians to sign up, joining around 30 volunteers who regularly participate in the group, which also boasts computer hardware experts, woodworking and sewing volunteers.
Despite COVID-19 related setbacks, the Repair Café is in its third year, and similar groups are popping up in the neighbourhood too the Epsom Sewing Repair Café. It is organised by the Chinese Conservation Education Trust – CCET Auckland in collaboration with the Epsom Chinese Association at the local Kimberley Room on the first Friday of each month.
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