Repair cafe starts tech amnesty to support community

Biddy Hammond said: "We're community based, for the community, and any way that we can help, we try to"

A community project, which encourages people to bring in items to be fixed for free, has opened an amnesty point for unused technology to be handed in and repurposed for others.

The Repair Café, started by Biddy Hammond from Somerset, has helped hundreds of people since being set up in October 2023.

It has two donation drop-ins a month, one in Burnham on Sea and the other in nearby Highbridge. Items can also be donated at the information bureau on Burnham seafront.

They now have almost 20 volunteers, fixing items including soft toys, upholstery, electricals, and clocks, which in turn, reduces items sent to landfill sites.

Ms Hammond said they are looking for an offer of a storage facility space so they can support the community even more

Ms Hammond said it was after hearing a woman at a charity shop saying she could not afford to fix her iron, that she came up with the idea of opening a repair café.

"I thought it's such a simple thing to do to help people out and it's pointless buying a new whatever every five minutes, because items work for such a short while nowadays."

Repair Cafe volunteers also visit homes with a thermal imaging camera, to help people increase insulation with "simple fixes in their homes like thicker curtains," Ms Hammond added.

She said after lockdown the repair cafe has built the community in quite a strong way, offering a service and a social space.

Hugh Champion, one of the repair team, said: "We have a good time, hopefully delight a few customers, and send them home with things they had written off that are back to working condition again.

"And people are so delighted when you help them fix something especially when it has high sentimental value," he added.