Who we are
We are a non-profit organization which helps you to repair everyday things. Inspired by the international repair café movement that started in the Netherlands, we help people in Malmö and the region to not only extend the lifetime of their devices and textiles, but also learn something about how to repair and maintain them.
Repair Café Malmö is a diverse crowd of highly engaged people which has the aim to reduce the increasing amount of waste that all of us produce in our everyday life. We are not repair professionals, even though some of us are working in this field, e.g. electrical engineers, programmers or researchers. Most of us learn to repair by helping each other and now we want to help you too. If you feel like it, you might even want to become a volunteer yourself – we welcome everyone!
How it works
Look at our home page for the next event. Before you come, make sure you have tried some simple troubleshooting at home and bring everything you might need to check it is working after the repair (e.g. a charging cable for an electronic device). It is good to plan to get there with plenty of time for the repair. When you arrive, you will be greeted by our event host, who will give you a form to fill out about the thing you have brought to repair. The form helps us keep track of what sorts of things we repair at events (see statistics) and also helps us match you with an available volunteer.
What can I bring?
We are mainly helping with electronic, electrical, mechanical problems and clothes. While we try to help with everything, there are some products that are not a great fit for repair. They may be dangerous for repair in the library setting, might take too long to repair our volunteers’ available time, or might suit other repair organisations in Malmö. For example, bicycles we refer to Cykelköket Malmö. Other things we do not repair at Repair Cafe include:
- Metal requiring welding
- Large batteries
- Microwaves
- Cars
- Large appliances (we offer no home services)
- Inkjet printers
- Safety sensitive (kids carseats, helmets, etc.)
When and where we meet
Our main venue is Stadsbiblioteket Malmö, at “Röda rummet” and our events run every other Sunday afternoon k13-15:30. Additionally we have special events, on festivals, with other organizations and groups that are interested in helping people, society and the environment. All our events are posted on the main page, so keep a lookout there!
What does it cost?
It’s free! We’re all volunteers and are not getting paid, we don’t charge you. Nevertheless, if you’re happy with the repair and want to support us, you can donate to the organization and support the repair of many more things. Our running costs come mainly from tools, fikas and transport, when we have special events.
If you feel we deserve a donation, get in touch with us or find the Swish QR code displayed at our events (or swish directly to Repair Café Malmö 123-248 52 33).
Why Café?
Well, it’s obvious that there is no event without a fika! We usually have free coffee and cookies, but feel free to bring something if you feel like it!
What we already achieved
We try to keep track of all the things we fixed and therestartproject.org offers a platform to save the data and convert it to something everyone can relate with. Check out our repair statistics!