Canberra: the perfect habitat for repair cafes
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As the weather cools down in Canberra and we say goodbye to summer, many of us will pull our winter woollens out of storage only to be met with the disappointing realisation they have been a comfy habitat for wool-eating clothes moths.
Luckily, Canberra also provides an excellent habitat for Repair Cafes, now hosting at least three across the city.
The Canberra Repair Collective hosts a monthly Repair Café at the Canberra Environment Centre in Acton and SeeChange Tuggeranong hosts a repair café on the last Sunday of each month.
Not to be left out, the Hawker Men’s Shed hosts a quarterly repair café in Belconnen at the headquarters of Softball ACT, next on this Sunday, 21 March from 10 am until 1 pm.
Whichever repair café you attend, help is on hand to fix those holes and keep your quality clothes in action and out of landfill.
“I had no idea how to mend woollen clothes before my first repair café. I had seen pictures online of some really beautiful repairs and needed the help of a real person to show me what I needed to do. My darning has come a long way!” says Jill Whittaker, one of the organisers of the Hawker Repair Café.
“I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn a skill that had been lost in my family.”
The last Hawker event, held in spring, saw jumpers, jeans, bags, necklaces, bikes, CD players and kettles repaired by volunteers.
“We had a lot of great feedback—people seemed very happy. Even where we were not able to make a repair, people said they found the advice we could give really helpful,” says Jon Wells from the Hawker Men’s Shed.
All three repair cafes bring together volunteers to help with more than just those pesky moth holes—bicycles, garden equipment, small furniture, technology, appliances and jewellery are just some of the things that volunteers can repair.
“If you can safely bring it in, we can probably have a look,” says Jon.
Alongside the repairs this Sunday, the Hawker Men’s Shed and Softball ACT will run a fundraising sausage sizzle and bake sale with coffee also available.
