About — Ashburton Repair Cafe

Our story

How we began

In the hot summer of 2018, a small group came together to create the Ashburton Repair Cafe. They were members of Ashburton Climate Emergency. Using the Dutch repair cafe model, Devon Community Action Group supported communities to establish their own, including ours in Ashburton.

The seven volunteers opened Ashburton Repair Cafe in November 2018. Now operating from our own workshop at The Old Umber Works, with 27 volunteers, almost 100 items per month are brought in.

We do what our name suggests: we repair items to prevent them from going to landfill, and we offer a cafe. We don't charge; we ask for a donation for our time (and for the reimbursement of the cost of any parts).

We're part of a network of over 2,500 repair cafes across the world. See repaircafe.org for more about the global network. Closer to home, we're part of Devon CAG, a network of groups supporting their local communities.

Case study

We repaired a 30-year-old Henry!

We thought a client's 22-year-old Henry cleaner was uneconomic to repair until Numatic, the Somerset maker of Henrys, stepped in. With a broken motor, this Henry was destined for recycling. Numatic gave us a new motor, we installed it, and Henry lives on to clean up for years to come.

"We've made more than 15 million Henrys and with most still in use, it's always fantastic to see a 20+ year old Henry still working hard. We can provide replacement parts for every Henry we've ever made, so we were thrilled to help Ashburton Repair Cafe give this Henry a new lease of life." — Numatic

Repaired not recycled

Our home

The Repair Cafe Workshop

On 14 October 2023, the Repair Cafe officially opened our new workshop at The Old Umber Works, Ashburton. Find us here.

See us in action

Watch our videos

A session at Ashburton Repair Cafe

ITV News — our workshop

Watch a BBC film about us

The people

Meet the team

Around 30 volunteers help make Ashburton Repair Cafe. Here are some of them:

Michael Cranmer

Trustee and repairer

My specialities are repairing and renovating wooden furniture and antiques, toys, ceramics, glass, and garden implements, and sharpening edges on knives, tools, etc. Michael is a trustee of the charity.

Andrew North

Volunteer Reception

I look after Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, the website and email enquiries. Additionally, I provide support to the trustees.

Alex Deas

Trustee and repairer

Having been involved in industrial automation and system control all my working life I have gained a wide range of experience in electronics, electrics, mechanical and general machine build skills. It is now very satisfying to be able to use some of this skill set on behalf of the repair cafe.

Lynne Holmes

Trustee, treasurer and reception

I have spent all my working life in the NHS as a nurse, Cardiac Sister, Health Visitor and Research Fellow. I was one of the original team who set up the Repair Cafe in 2018 so have seen the concept grow into the success it has become today.

Barbara Haywood

Trustee and repairer

Barbara is a multi-skilled repairer who will try her hand at just about anything!

Audrey Ryder

Volunteer (sewing)

I really believe in repairing items and reducing the use of our earth's resources. It's fun working with the other volunteers!

Nigel Ward

Chair of Trustees and volunteer repairer

We try to repair everything brought in to the Repair Cafe. Success or failure is always met with positive reactions from our customers. They are always so happy that we tried, which is very enjoyable!

Val Watson

Volunteer

I enjoy the company of the Repairers who are a great team of creative people and always willing to problem share or share skills. You never know what job will come in — from re-stringing a 1960s puppet to mending a zip or restoring a much-loved cardigan from its adventures with the dreaded moth!

Yve Newsome

Volunteer (reception)

Martin Austin

Volunteer repairer

Martin likes a challenge! At the Repair Cafe, he takes on some of the bigger challenges and often repairs items that would otherwise be consigned to the dump.

Paul and his daughter

Volunteers

Annie Hill Smith

Volunteer (sewing)

Repairing things at the Repair Café helps us to progress to a better world!

Andreas Knopper

Trustee and Volunteer repairer

I really like the social side of the Repair Cafe. We'll help each other to solve problems and repair items. I like keeping the old stuff going!

Christopher

Volunteer

Our youngest contributor, Christopher helps make our Repair Cafe a very special place.

Joe

Volunteer repairer

Tony

Volunteer repairer

Chas

Repairer

Chas is a multi-skilled repairer who loves solving problems.

Jim

Volunteer repairer

Susan

Volunteer (sewing)

I enjoy sewing and knitting. I like repairing things. I come to the Repair Cafe because I love the company.

Ellie

Volunteer (sewing)

I hate the throwaway society. I like the challenge of repairing items brought in to us, and knowing that they will continue to be useful.

Richard and his daughter

Volunteers

Richard and his daughter are up for tackling most items that are brought in for repair. Both teach each other about the different items.

Join us

Want to get involved?

Volunteer with us Book a repair

Reviews

What our visitors say

"We have been to the repair café a few times and love its buzzy, purposeful and friendly atmosphere. We have been so impressed by the results, tools and scissors sharpened and help with finding the best and most cost effective way of fixing a food processor. I would recommend anyone to take their broken or damaged articles along to see what can be done with them."

— Judy

"I have found the Repair Cafe exceptionally useful. Very pleasant atmosphere and splendid expertise. I shall carry on using it!"

— John B

"The repair cafe has been invaluable to me! New handles have been beautifully crafted on to my pressure cooker pot. My grandchildren's wooden train had a missing part which was beautifully recrafted. For me the repair cafe has been a treasure trove of skills and kindness within this welcoming community of Ashburton."

— Elizabeth