The perfect opportunity to have broken belongings assessed or repaired is right around the corner.

Tauranga hoarders, tinkerers and holders of broken gadgets can rejoice, at Tauranga’s Repair Café pop ups

Repair Cafés are described as “free pop-up events” where local people can bring in their “broken or damaged belongings” to local volunteers, who do their best to repair or assess them.

Tauranga is joining the global movement with its own Repair Café with a volunteer driven initiative as part of Tinkd Makerspace.

According to a spokesperson, Repair Cafés aim to reduce waste and overconsumption.

They also encourage and foster the “do it yourself” spirit and strengthen social connections by bringing different members of the community together.

“The purpose of these events is two-fold: to try to change our “throwaway culture” and to bring people in the community together. An added bonus is that it saves people money,” says founder of Tinkd Makerspace, Steven Vincent.

“If their item can be repaired they don’t need to replace it, pay for more expensive repairs elsewhere, or send it to the landfill. If the item can’t be repaired, then at least we’ve tried!

The organisers are looking for more volunteer repairers with different skill sets to add to the events. It’s free to attend with an item but pre-booking an item is preferred as it allows the organisers to prepare for any repairs.

For more information and tickets to the next Repair Café event, visit the Tinkd website.

The organisers are looking for more volunteer repairers with different skill sets to add to the events. It’s free to attend with an item but pre-booking an item is preferred as it allows the organisers to prepare for any repairs.