IN THE NEWS!
‘….Allie McAndrews, who hosted the event, works as a recycling educator for a Bay Area garbage company, and had volunteered for six months at the Haight-NOPA Repair Cafe before deciding to start her own. She says the Haight-NOPA version became so popular that it could no longer get through all the items people brought in over a day. That’s when she had the idea to create one in the Mission, where she lives, and give her neighbors an opportunity to fix their broken stuff….’
Full Article: Mission District's First Repair Cafe
59 FIXES, 212 LBS KEPT OUT OF LANDFILL
Even if we want to fix things the way Randy does, it’s increasingly difficult to find someone who can do it. You’d be hard-pressed to find a place to fix small appliances like toasters or microwaves. Low-cost fast fashion, meanwhile, all but encourages disposability. The vast majority of consumer items are deliberately designed to become obsolete. We are losing the ability to not only fix a thing but understand the mechanisms that operate it. And the relationships created in that teaching. New efforts in the Bay Area, however, are starting to offer a different path……’
PDF: California Has Forgotten How To Fix Things
CAN THESE NEW BAY AREA CAFES HELP?
Culture of Repair is a global initiative that’s focused on helping educators teach
youth about repair in the classroom.
Before the clinic, KALW climate reporter Mary Catherine led a discussion about the repair movement with three experts. Cindy Navarro, a coach with the Fix-It Clinics, said “joy” is the word that sums up what she loves about repair. Joining Cindy on the panel were Claire Bonham-Carter, who co-founded the Haight-NOPA Repair Cafe in San Francisco, and Phoebe Schenker, executive director of the Reuse Alliance in Sonoma County.
To listen to an excerpt of the panel discussion CLICK HERE
Stop buying from Amazon or other places. Buy better stuff that lasts longer, and get into this idea of “we can repair things.
To watch the whole video: CLICK HERE
This particular cafe was started by long-time neighbors Claire and Courtney. Claire, a sustainability and climate change planning consultant, was inspired by her friend Charlotte’s work on the Chiswick Repair Cafe in London. When she realized San Francisco didn’t have its own repair cafe, she reached out to her neighbor and friend Courtney, the community builder and artist behind @peopleartmusic.
They figured that if Berkeley, Sebastopol, and Palo Alto (to name a few) had their own repair cafes or fix-it clinics, it was time San
Francisco had one too.
Full Article: Lower Haight Local, Issue 8: Repurposing
"Sometimes it is helpful for people to have
‘permission’ to recycle an item if our repairers think
it can’t be mended"
The Haight-NOPA repair cafe takes those additional costs out of the equation. Bring them all things broken, and their team of volunteers will try their absolute hardest to fix it - free of charge!"
Full article: Revitalizing the Lost Art of Repair at the Haight NOPA Repair Cafe
BROKE ASS STUART - March 12, 2026
REVITALIZING THE LOST ART OF THE REPAIR CAFE AT THE HAIGHT-NOPA REPAIR CAFE
"You ring a bell when a thing is repaired. And then on that cue, everyone knows something's been fixed — and everybody cheers!"
By: Alexandra Sarimaskci
“The Haight-Nopa Repair Café is a local volunteer driven initiative to help reduce waste, save resources and money, and bring joy to the local community. Patrons bring their broken or worn item (electronics, appliances, clothes, toys, jewelry, etc.) to the Repair Café event and volunteers try to repair it and/or give advice on what can be done. Neighbor-made sweet treats are available to help pass the time if there is a wait. We aim to have a minimum of four events a year.”
“Claire has been working on sustainability issues in the built environment for over 20 years, and was inspired to set up the Repair Café because of her friend Charlotte’s successful Chiswick Repair Café in London. She found there were many similar repair cafés or fix-it clinics in the North, East and South Bay but not in San Francisco. She asked Courtney, her neighbor and the founder of People!Art!Music!, to support her as she thought it would resonate perfectly with the work she does uplifting local creatives, small businesses and inspiring community connection.”
Full Article: BVNA Spotlight: Haight-Nopa Repair Cafe
"The Haight-Nopa Repair Café is a local volunteer driven initiative to help reduce waste, save resources and money, and bring joy to the local community"
Patrons visiting the repair café first were greeted by Bailey and Matthew, who helped them fill in a registration form with vital statistics about their broken thing. Anna then helped them select a sweet treat, and Kinshuk showed them to a seat before Justin or Emma whisked the patrons off to meet their designated repairer at one of the tables labelled ‘Woodwork,’ ‘Appliances,’ ‘Sewing,’ or ‘Electronics.’ Then through great repairer collaborations, patrons watched their appliance, electronics, jewelry, or clothing being studied, unscrewed, soldered, tweezered, or stitched.
Full Article: The Inaugural Haight-Nopa Repair Cafe
"Our amazing volunteers repaired a 100-year old rosary, a 1970's record player, a toaster, a CD player, jewelry & clothing."