Repair Café joins the celebrations of its founders’ birthday

Friday, October 18th, marked the 15th anniversary of Repair Café. The movement began in the Netherlands in 2009 on the initiative of then journalist Martine Postma. She thought it was a shame that we threw away so many things that could still be fixed. Martine wanted to offer an alternative: a welcoming place in the neighborhood where you could fix your broken item together with a qualified volunteer. This became the first Repair Café held in Amsterdam.

That first Repair Café was such a success that it was repeated again and again and very quickly the model began to spread to other cities, towns and villages. Subsequently, Repair Cafés spread throughout the world, now being held in more than 45 countries. Thousands of household objects are returned for reuse every week and there are thousands of enthusiastic volunteers working selflessly for a sustainable future with less waste, more cooperation and more fun.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, each Repair Café was invited to design and make a pennant that would form a large festive flag piece at the Anniversary Repair Café in The Hague. Shrewsbury Repair Café, which has been established in the town for seven years, got to work straight away and made its own individual pennant, the textile team ensuring it reflected the Shrewsbury Repair Café’s identity. Shrewsbury Repair Café is pleased to be seen alongside from hundreds of other streamers from around the world and be part of a very special celebration.

By Pete Martin – Contributor