People will soon be able to bring their broken goods to a new repair cafe in Kingswood.
We Are BS15 CIC, the local community anchor organisation, secured funding from Electrical Safety First to start the venture.
They’re well known for running a community allotment, a social supermarket (food club) alongside a warm space with hot food and drinks on Thursdays at Holy Trinity Church Hall in Kingswood.
They also cook and deliver dozens of healthy meals each week across the area and run The Beacon Cafe based at Hanham Methodist Church.
The new repair cafe is being created in partnership with the highly successful repair cafe in Hanham, meaning that people in Kingswood can benefit from having a repair cafe on their doorstep too.
The repair cafe will run at Holy Trinity Church Hall on the first Thursday of each month, starting on February 5th, timed from 3.30 to 5.30pm to fit in with after-school pick-ups.
It will work on a drop-in basis, with a paid member staff alongside trained volunteers all working together to fix whatever people bring in.
Easier fixes will be completed on the day in front of the person, but trickier issues might need the person to book in their product and come back some weeks later.
The repair cafe is completely free, although people are welcome to make voluntary donations if they want to. There is no pressure.
Becky Hurwitz, projects manager at We Are BS15, said: “We can’t wait to get going with the repair cafe. So many things get taken to the tip or abandoned in a cupboard when they could be fixed with a bit of love and know-how.
“If you’re a dab hand at mending stuff, do get in touch with us, because we’d love to have you on the team.
“I’m also hoping the repair cafe can be a place where people can pick up new skills themselves. I want people to watch how it’s done and ask questions!