Our plans to set up a Repair Cafe are progressing well - we have had 2 meetings now with over 20 people attending and have already been successful in a couple of grant applications. We are pleased that 3 people have come forward to be PAT testers for electrical items, and now we have had it confirmed that we will receive £500 from County Councillor Charlotte Atkin's Climate Action fund, we can crack on and get the PAT unit purchased and the 3 people get the certification we need for our insurance. We are also grateful for District Councillor Lyn Swindlehurst's grant from her Councillors' Community Initiative Fund. She's also proved herself pretty nifty with a needle and thread when repairing the trimming on Leek Town Crier Bill Lomas's hat.
We are hoping to establish a Moorlands Repair Cafe project this year, initially based in Leek, but if successful look to expand into other Moorlands towns and villages in the future. The basic idea is to repair items to prevent them being sent to landfill, saving people money, saving resources and also building up skills across our community. There is also a social element, bringing people together to share and support each other. We have visited Repair Cafes in Macclesfield, Congleton and Buxton and now hope to set up a scheme in the Moorlands. We need fixers and a support team to look after the finances, room bookings, promotion and recruitment on more volunteers.
We have access to resources on how to set up Repair Cafe, and on March 5th we will be explaining how you can get involved. More details at Moorlands Repair Cafe.