What’s the collective noun for a group of volunteers who fix things?
A patchwork? That kinda fits.
The Repair Movement, whose origins are pushback against the current ethos of unrepairable items which have to be dumped in landfill and replaced by shiny new gadgets, is burgeoning. New repair groups spring up all the time.
Most groups tend to have clothes sewers and electronics specialists, though they also repair everything from furniture to toys and bicycles.
Repair Cafe Nunhead has been functioning for nearly three years now, having had to move to a bigger room in The Green community centre in South London. It’s last event of 2025 saw a high demand for repair services, with dozens of people bringing all kinds of items for fixing, from mixers and toasters, to lamps and a doll’s house.
More volunteers come on board every month, which is a sign of success. One of the stalwarts of the sewing team came back after having twins. She missed the fun and camaraderie of the group.
Some repairs are complex and need the specialist skills of different people to complete the fix. Not everything can be brought back to life and sometimes even the most skilled members cannot work out what is wrong, particularly with things like circuit boards where it can be difficult to trace exactly what is defective without a circuit diagram. Googling doesn’t always work!
All repairs are done free, but most repair groups are run on a shoestring and so please give a decent donation if you can afford it.
Find your local repair cafe:
https://www.repaircafe.org/en/visit/
