Big Success at County Derry Men's Shed Repair Cafe

Three County Derry Men's Sheds hosted the North's first Mens Shed Repair Cafe in a successful pilot event.

The event was held on Saturday 4 March and all the repairs, teas and coffees were free though optional donations were accepted.

Portstewart, Limavady, and Coleraine Cornfield Mens Sheds were involved in the event that took place in the Portstewart mens shed.

Catherine Taylor, Programme Director for Be Safe Be Well Mens Sheds, said the day was hugely enjoyable for the fixers and members of the community who stopped by.

“It was brilliant fun. We were all quite nervous to begin with but once we got our first couple of repairs through the door the mood was so buoyant,” she said.

“It's a quick event. It generally only lasts for two hours on a Saturday and it exists for the whole community.”

“The fixers were so excited, gathering around as you can imagine with an old clock or a guitar or a bicycle being fixed.

They had a team with various skill sets with different degrees of experience and carried out 13 repairs among their 12 fixers and served 30 cups of coffee.

For some of the repairs the men didn't have all the right pieces so innovation was key.

Catherine became aware of the repair cafe movement by volunteering at Repair Cafe Foyle and knew it would be a fantastic match for the Men's Shed community.

“What I was struck by – having worked with the mens sheds for many years – is how much of these skills we already have in our sheds. Repairing things, upcycling, recycling, reusing, being creative with any kind of material, it's just intuitive,” Catherine said.

“The repair Cafe movement really is about trying to reduce the amount of stuff that we dump and trying to encourage people and remind people that things can be fixed.”

“We want to reduce our carbon emissions and we want to ensure less waste goes to landfill. So this is a powerful way to do that because at a repair cafe, you're sitting in front of the fixer with your item and you're seeing how they fix it.”

They will host another repair cafe on 22 April in the Portstewart Men' Shed and hope more Shed's will follow their lead.

The three sheds involved are part of the five that make up the Be Safe Be Well Men's sheds. They operate for men aged 25 and over who are retired, unemployed and men with learning difficulties.

The five sheds have a combined 169 members.

“It's to build community to reduce isolation to improve mental health, and general well being. But some join to craft or to make something or take part in our many activities,” Catherine said.

“We also offer food at most of our men sheds as well. So that's an important part of our sheds. Our kitchen is our central space where you can make a cup of tea or coffee.”

The Be Safe Be Well sheds are members of the Northern Ireland Resource Network and received help from Repair Cafe Belfast and Repair Cafe Foyle to put on the event.