Thurso’s monthly Repair Café sessions will seek to reduce waste
Thurso is to get its own version of TV’s The Repair Shop – allowing those with a much-loved personal item that has seen better days to have it fixed at no cost.
Starting this month, it is the latest initiative by Thurso Community Development Trust (TCDT) to support sustainability and reduce waste.
The Greenhouses community gardens, next to the town’s tennis courts, will host monthly Repair Café sessions, offering to restore – free of charge – damaged household and garden items and keep them out of landfill.
The sessions will take place on the last Saturday of each month, from 2pm to 4pm, with members of the public able to ask a team of expert volunteers to bring their items back to working order.
Building on the success of previous ad-hoc repair events in 2023 and 2024, TCDT is now keen to make it a regular feature.
Sharon Dismore, senior development officer for the gardens team, said: “We are thrilled to host these monthly Repair Cafés at the Greenhouses.
“By teaching basic repair skills, we hope to empower people to extend the life of their items and reduce waste. And this year, with the Greenhouses in full swing, we’re making our events bigger and better than ever.”
Each session will feature themed activities.
In March, a seed and plant swap will run alongside the repair café with support from Plantlife and Far North Seed Savers. Gardeners will be encouraged to bring tools in need of sharpening or repair.
Coffee and cake will be available.
For more information on the Repair Cafe programme, email Sharon@thursocdt.co.uk or follow TCD Trust on Facebook or Instagram.
The Repair Shop is a popular BBC series in which skilled craftspeople rescue items their owners feared were beyond saving and bring them back to life.
