A local MP joined volunteers at the recently-opened café ahead of International Repair Day

Bambos Charalambous MP (left) and Mike Hakata (right) at the Bowes and Bounds Repair Cafe

A repair café in Bowes Park hosted a celebration on Sunday (6th) ahead of International Repair Day later this month.

Southgate and Wood Green MP Bambos Charalambous was among the guests at Bowes and Bounds Repair Café as it helped to mark 15 years of repair cafes around the world.

International Repair Day is on 19th October and London repair groups are celebrating throughout the month.

Bowes and Bounds Repair Café launched six months ago at Myddleton Road Market and continues to operate on the first Sunday of each month at Shaftesbury Hall, from 2pm-5pm.

Charalambous was joined on Sunday by Haringey Council’s cabinet member for climate action Mike Hakata, with both getting the chance to have a go at repairing an item and save it from going to waste. At the event, the Labour MP also reconfirmed his commitment to the Repair and Reuse Declaration, which he signed in parliament last May.

Bowes and Bounds Repair Café is open to anyone who wants to bring in a household item to repair, whether it’s furniture, clothing or electricals. The team of volunteers offer support and advice to help teach repair skills and breathe new life into otherwise wasted items.

The café has been a great success in the local community since receiving start-up funding from the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) as part of the North London Community Fund, aimed at supporting community initiatives that prevent waste.

Since opening, the café’s volunteers estimate 48 items have been repaired, avoiding 180kg of waste and saving over 600kg of CO2.

Fiona, co-director at The Restart Project and one of the organisers of Bowes and Bounds, said: “Most people don’t like throwing away usable things, and we’ve loved seeing how determined people are to fix their things at the repair café. We’re asking MPs to sign their support for the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration this International Repair Day, because government policies can make repair easier, cheaper and more accessible for everyone.”

Bowes and Bounds Repair Café is run entirely by volunteers. For anyone interested in helping out:
Visit [email protected].

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