Repair Café Rundown

The Edmonton Tool Library recently hosted the city’s first ever Repair Café!

​We were thrilled to see so many community members show up with a wide array of items on the day of the event. Our volunteers channeled their talents to repair everything from bread makers to backpacks to bikes, diverting almost 150 lbs (or 70 kg) from landfill! One person attended to learn how to thread a sewing machine; another couple brought a lawn mower with a stubbornly stuck nut. Happily, nearly all attendees’ needs were met with the skills (and strength) of our volunteers.

​Successes of the day:

67 total visitors
32 of 40 non-bike items repaired
12 of 13 bikes repaired by Bike Edmonton
Several items sharpened, including two axes
Five new ETL memberships

Two of our board members, Darwin and Odessa, were even interviewed by Jered Stuffco for CBC Radio. In case you missed the interview on Edmonton AM on CBC with Mark Connolly, you can listen here. ​

Thank you

We would like to give a huge shout out to the amazing volunteers below for lending their time and expertise to making this a truly fantastic and productive experience. We hope these connections will be seeds for future collaboration.

• Cathy Jack – Blenderz Garment Recyclers
• Tania Sarkar  
• Nicolette Horvath 
• Chris Corrigan 
• Bernie Fagnan & David – Bike Edmonton    
• Tristan Cameron – ETL Board Member
• Aerance Teo
• Gerry Desilets
• Haribhai Pambhar
• Bizz McKilligan – Waste Free Edmonton

If you have any feedback from your visit or suggestions for future repair-oriented events, send us an email at [email protected].

- The ETL Team