REPAIR Cafe Wales and Benthyg Cymru are teaming up to open a combined repair shop and library of things in the city centre this summer.
Newport’s high street and its environmentally-friendly credentials are set to get a massive boost with today’s announcement of a trailblazing project coming to the Olympia House regeneration on Skinner Street.
Repair Cafe Wales and Benthyg Cymru will be setting up a permanent repair space and library of things, giving residents from around the city access to free repairs, skill-sharing workshops and volunteering roles as well as the opportunity to borrow a range of household items such as a drill, sewing machine or board game at low cost, with the opportunity to pay in volunteering time or Tempo time credits as well as cash.
‘RE:Make Newport’ will be based at 26 Skinner Street, with the additional benefit of an online borrowing platform allowing people to go online to browse, reserve and pay for items they wish to borrow.
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An electric cargo bike will also enable deliveries and collections around the city and provide active travel opportunities for volunteers.
Phoebe Brown, director of Repair Cafe Wales said: "Repair cafés are a brilliant way to reduce waste, promote skill sharing and increase community cohesion.
"This project will enable us to combine these benefits with those of a library of things into one innovative high street space serving the community of Newport. We are hugely excited to launch RE:Make Newport and hope it will pave the way for many similar initiatives across Wales."
The project is being run by Repair Cafe Wales and Benthyg Cymru, with funding from WCVA’s Landfill Disposal Tax Communities Scheme with additional support from Newport City Homes.
Becky Harford, co-founder of Benthyg Cymru said: "Libraries of things are for everyone – providing opportunities to share precious resources that are already in communities and create the connections with people in Newport and beyond that to empower people to take part in the sharing revolution.
"We’re thrilled to be setting up this new permanent space in Newport City Centre and look forward to working with the community to get everyone borrowing."
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