This initiative would be the first of its kind in Kinross-shire, based on the experience of the Repair Cafes in Crieff, Pitlochry and Aberfeldy.
Our aims:
- encourage local people to reduce waste through repair of their broken items with a positive outcome of waste reduction and mitigation of climate change,
- reduce living costs as it is usually more cost effective to repair a good quality old item than to buy a new one,
- develop community links and exchange of expertise in the practical setting of Repair Café,
- strengthen our community in climate change adaptation with a supportive popup climate café,
- provide a swap shop facility to further reduce living costs and promote sustainable fashion.
Kinross-shire Repair Cafe would be a community-led project run by Kinross-shire Climate Café volunteers. The events would take place on four different weekend days in 2024 from 11 – 3pm in the local town halls. The format of the Café would be informal: a walk-in café where people come and bring their broken items to be repaired. Clients would not pay for the repairs but would pay for parts and materials used. There are two possible locations that we envisage for the location to widen the area of provision: Kinross and Milnathort. But the Repair Café would also be providing repairs and working with a wider Kinross-shire community with the total population in excess of 11,000.
The events would be advertised through the local press, leaflet distribution at Kinross Farmers Markets, social media and Loch Leven Community Library. The project will support the local economy by involving small local businesses with repair expertise, links with the future Repairers have been made. It will create opportunities for people with skills currently out of employment or retired who are experts and craftsmen. The repair Café would involve 10 volunteers for each event, which amounts to 200 volunteer hours.
One of the aims of the project is to reduce the living costs as through repair you lower your spendings in the long term especially if items that are broken are of better quality. This helps to reduce the effect of inflation on your household budget.
Finally, as part of Repair Café we would also hold a swap shop to reduce textile waste and a pop-up climate café to have friendly chats on different aspects of climate change adaptation and how to cope with the climate change crisis.
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