Local Repair Cafe in Scenic Rim Fosters Community and Sustainability

In south-east Queensland's Scenic Rim, the sound of tools and laughter fills the air at the Tamborine Mountain Repair Cafe.

While 93-year-old volunteer Leon Hughes sharpens a pair of antique Japanese scissors, fellow repairer Neville Warner tackles a piano accordion.

"We get all kinds of jobs," according to coordinator Geoff Marshall, "from sharpening knives, scissors and gardening tools to furniture repairs and fixing wobbly chairs".

This repair cafe opened in 2022 with the aim of providing a place for locals to repair items that would otherwise go into landfill.

It is a goal the volunteers are achieving: more than 500 items have been given a new lease of life and saved from the bin.

Geoff explains that while extending the life of everyday items is the purpose of repair cafes, there are deeper benefits for all involved.

More than repairs

In a world of growing social isolation where just over one in six Australians experienced loneliness in 2022, repair cafes are proving popular as a meeting spot and the network is growing.

In the 10 years since Australia's first repair cafe, The Bower, opened in Sydney, the movement has grown to 112 repair cafes countrywide.

Since the first repair cafe was established in Amsterdam in 2009, the movement has since become global with more than 3,500 operating in 40 countries worldwide.

As with most repair cafes, the operation in Tamborine Mountain is a free service, run by skilled volunteers.

Customers donate what they can afford and this money goes back into providing community services.

As a former psychotherapist, volunteer Jamie Strauss believes it is good for the pocket but even better for the mind.

"We get a lot of older and widowed people who haven't got the ability or the know-how to repair things.

"With money being the way it is today, people know they can rely on us to help and it leaves them with a little bit extra in their pocket."

Most volunteers use a hammer and chisel to help the customers; Jamie uses her therapy skills.

"Just the knowledge that we are here, people know they don't have to be lonely and don't have to feel isolated, that is so important."

'Untold benefits'

The social connection is an upside being experienced at repair cafes nationally.

"One of the lovely things that we see around community repair is the bringing together of people from all aspects of society," Griffith University law professor Leanne Wiseman explains.

Professor Wiseman leads the Australian Repair Network, a broader movement advocating for Australians to have a right to repair.

She says she regularly experiences this sense of inclusivity and social connection at the repair cafe that she is involved with at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.

"We have refugees, older people, younger people, people with employment barriers or disabilities, all come together for a common purpose and that inclusiveness is really benefiting," she says.

"We hear some wonderful stories of people who are socially isolated, but who see a repair cafe as a perfect avenue for them to get involved with people, to share their knowledge.

It gives them confidence and helps them make friends.

As he finishes fixing the piano accordion, volunteer Neville Warner ruminates on the value of the repair cafe in Tamborine Mountain.

He believes the combination of cost saving and companionship is showing people an alternative way of living.

"In a capitalist society everybody tends to buy a mower, whereas if you had shared community equipment people would rely on each other a little bit more, come out of their houses, have a cup of tea or a beer, and it makes a better society," he says.

"What's most important is bringing people in and showing them care and respect."

For the team at Tamborine Mountain, every repair is a small victory -- not just for the environment, but for the human spirit.