About

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 at St Andrew’s Church Hall, and our own workshop, 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. For more information about the global network, see repaircafe.org. Closer to home, we’re part of Devon CAG, a network of groups supporting their local communities.

Join us at one of our regular sessions, or at our workshop. See Home Page for our opening times.

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.

Thanks Numatic!

Henry said ““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.”

The Repair Cafe Workshop

On 14 October 2023, the Repair Cafe officially opened our new workshop. Here’s a video, made by ITV News.

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. All of these roles consisted of working with people which makes reception and the meet and greet role perfect. I was one of the original team who set up the Repair Cafe in 2018 so have seen the concept grow and 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!

Sara-Beth Grace

Volunteer and content creator

I’ve been coming to the Repair Cafe for two years. I meet such great people.

I really like that we are pushing against the tide; repairing rather than the throwaway society.

Yve Newsome

Volunteer (reception)

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.

Danny

Volunteer repairer

It’s like community service! Can I go home now?

Tony

Volunteer repairer

Chas

Repairer

Chas is multi-skilled repairer who loves solving problems.

Jim

Volunteer repairer

Martin Austin

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 (aka the recycling centre).

Paul (and his daughter)

Repairers

Paul and his daughter volunteer regularly at the Repair Cafe and are great at fixing things. They like challenge!

Annie Hill-Smith

Volunteer (sewing)

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

Susan

Volunteer (sewing)

I enjoy sewing and knitting. I like repairing things.

I come to the Repair Cafe because I love the company. I got involved after I brought an item in for repair, and realised I could help.

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.

How to get involved

We are always looking for volunteers, so if you have experience in anything, please reach out and get involved. We are solely reliant on our volunteers and their expertise. Come and be part of the repair revolution!

Contact us

Community Reviews

We want to hear from you....

We'd like to hear about your experience of the Repair Cafe. Please contact us and let us know.

Here are some of the comments we've received already.

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!

I have been able to avail of such varied skills:

New handles have been beautifully crafted on to my pressure cooker pot which I can now use again.

My grandchildren's wooden train had a missing part which was beautifully recrafted.

I needed help and support at various times with my computer which was freely given, bringing peace of mind.

For me the repair cafe has been a treasure trove of skills and kindness within this welcoming community of Ashburton

Elizabeth

Our Amazing Sponsors

We rely on donations to cover our operating costs. Thanks to everyone who supports us.

Also we’ve had great support from:

Falcon Digital

Climb / Grey Matter

CAG Devon

Glendinning's

Tucker's Country Store

Howdens

Teignbridge District Council

Devon Locality Fund

Join our mission. Volunteer, Donate, Advocate. Get Started Today.

Get in touch via our contact form

Telephone: 07761 045146

Book Item In

Get Involved

Policies:

Privacy/GDPR
Health and Safety
Complaints
Safeguarding - adults
Safeguarding - children
House Rules

Account:

My Accounts
Login/Register
Basket
My Repairs

Ashburton Repair Cafe is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation number 1202475