You want to start a repair cafe, fantastic.
Lots of people have started them already so you don’t have to invent a way to do it, you can copy how other repair cafes do it.
That is exactly what I did, so the good parts of my advice below are all credit to the other repair cafes and if you spot anything wrong please tell me as it will be my mistake.
Step 1: start at repaircafe.org/en and then search the web to read all you can about repair cafés local to you, around the UK and around the world.
Step 2: you still want to start a repair cafe, then join Repair Cafe International.
Step 3: find a suitable venue.
Step 4: find insurance – check if the repair cafe can be covered by venue, local community group, local council or if as we are you are a local action group of Friends of the Earth then that insurance currently covers repair cafes. Otherwise you can get specialist repair cafe insurance, don’t buy it yet but just get it ready for when you are good to go.
Step 5: fix your first date 3 months in the future, think about future dates, I.e. 3rd Saturday morning every other month to start with, of course you can always get more frequent in future if that works for your team.
Step 6: publicise the repair cafe first date, seek out your repair team – repairers, refreshment helpers, front of house team, ….
Step 7: 2 weeks before date either get insurance if all good to go or cancel and reschedule for your second date.
Step 8: get all your repair team together in the venue for a meeting/dry run, talk through how it will all work, show everybody the paperwork and check what else will be needed on the day, address people’s concerns and seek the team’s suggestions.
Step 9: hold your first repair cafe and publicise at least one subsequent date.
Step 10: celebrate and catch your breath, then get ready for the next one.