Our next repair cafe will be held on 23 November from 2.00 - 4.30pm at Danes Hill School.

From January 2025 the repair cafe will be held in the Oxshott Community Hub every third Saturday of the month from 10.00am - 12.30pm.

Also from January there will be a stall for refills of household items and toiletries. See below for a list of available refills.

Bin it? No way!
Our repair cafe is an exciting collaboration between Oxshott Net Zero and Danes Hill School. By giving items a second lease of life, we hope to reduce the volume of items going to landfill and also to help people pick up some skills and learn how to repair household items. We hope that this initiative will provide a friendly space for the village and the school to get to know each other better.
At each repair cafe we obviously run repairs but that's not all we do. From January, you can find a re-fill stall for your household products and toiletries plus information and inspiration from other projects in the village including Plastic Free Oxshott and Take the JUMP. And finally the cafe part. Each repair cafe is great place to come and get a coffee and pastry so just come along and enjoy the vibe.

Come and enjoy the cafe. Bring something from home in need of repair. Or volunteer now as a repairer or a welcomer and join the team. If you are bringing an item for repair, get to us at least half an hour before we close so that we have time to look at it for you.

What happens at a repair cafe?

Repair cafes are a way to bring a second lease of life to your household goods, clothes and other textiles. The idea is that you bring along your damaged goods and our volunteer repairers will do their best to fix it whilst passing on some helpful tips and skills. If possible, they will show you how to do the repair yourself under their guidance. Repair cafes are also a great place to enjoy a coffee and a friendly chat. Oxshott Repair Cafe is a part of the Global Repair Cafe movement led by Repair Cafe International Foundation. www.repaircafe.org/en

Our great team of volunteers can offer free repairs to: small electricals, furniture, garden tools, clocks, clothes and textiles, toys, laptops and computers etc. We also regularly offer bike check-ups and small repairs or have visiting specialists with us. If you are bringing a laptop or computer, please ensure that it has been backed up before you arrive. Please also bring any cables for electrical items so that they can be plugged in and tested.

When you arrive at the cafe you will be welcomed and asked to fill in a form about the item you have brought with you. You will then either be allocated to a free repairer or given a ticket and asked to wait until a suitable repairer becomes free. Whilst you wait, you can enjoy a cup of coffee and cake in our lovely pop-up cafe.

The idea is that you stay with the repairer to learn how to fix things. For example, if you bring something in need of sewing, you may find that you are set up with a needle and thread under the careful eye of one of our expert repairers.

You are also welcome just to come to enjoy the cafe without having to bring something for repair.

Only items that can be carried by one person will be accepted and no petrol-driven items should be brought for safety reasons. Please ensure that items are clean and empty out vacuum cleaners.

Next Dates and where to find us

23 November 2.00-4.30pm Danes Hill School
18 January 10.00am -12.30pm Oxshott Community Hub

From January 2025 - every 3rd Saturday (except August and December) 10.00am - 12.30pm Oxshott Community Hub. The entrance is between 64 and 66 Waverley Road, Oxshott, KT22 0UL

What else is on offer at the repair cafe?

Zero waste shop Ecocentric Us will be bringing a stall from their Claygate shop to each repair cafe from January. Come and get refills for your household cleaning products and toiletries.

Cleaning products: Washing up liquid, Laundry liquid, All purpose cleaner, Toilet cleaner, Cleaning vinegar, Rinse aid.

Toiletries: Body care, Shampoo, Conditioner, Hand wash, Body wash.

Plastic Free Oxshott and Take the JUMP will have stalls to inspire and encourage you. For more info, visit their pages on this website.

See here for a full list of House Rules , FAQ and our Data Protection Notice.

Volunteer

Join the team

We are looking for local residents with different repair skills to be repair enthusiasts or welcomers during our repair cafe events. We also need people to help with admin for this project.

If you have the time and skills to support your local community by repairing these kinds of items we'd be delighted to hear from you: small electrical items, small household/garden items, clothing/textiles, simple bike repairs, tech items.

If you are interested, please get in touch and we will send you a volunteer pack: repair@oxshottnetzero.org.uk

5

Events held

204

Number of visitors

94

Items brought

56

Items fixed

13

Items partially fixed or advice given

25

Unrepairable

85

KG of landfill diversion

799

KG of CO2e reduction

107

Number of items brought for donation elsewhere

How we make these calculations

These calculations use a tool from the Centre for Sustainable Design at Surrey University. It is hosted on the website of Farnham Repair Cafe where you can take a look at it. We use the simple calculation tool for our data.

The calculation makes certain assumptions, eg that the item would have gone to landfill had it not been repaired which may not always be the real-world outcome. It also works on averages so it becomes more accurate over time. We include it not as an exact representation of how much carbon has been saved or of weight saved from landfill but as an encouragement for all of us to do more by seeing the impact of our combined actions represented in this way. We hope that you enjoy seeing it!

Below is a screen-shot from Farnham repair cafe where you can see the savings of 10kg of repairs represented as equivalent savings in car or air mileage or as number of showers.