Repair Café Silicon Valley

What do you do when your rice cooker stops working, your bicycle chain keeps slipping, or your beloved sweater develops a tear? For many of us, we have been resigned to tossing it and buying a replacement. But there's a better way -- one that's both environmentally friendly and community-building. In 2013 FACS member Maia Albano Coladonato and her husband Greg founded Repair Café Silicon Valley, a volunteer-run organization dedicated to keeping everyday items out of landfills by helping people repair rather than discard them.

What Is Repair Café?

Repair Café events are all about fixing things together. These free gatherings provide tools, materials, and most importantly, volunteer experts who can help repair clothes, furniture, small appliances, bicycles, crockery, electronics, lamps, toys, computers, and much more. The patient volunteers are ready to assess what needs to be repaired and guide you in repair or take on the repair themselves. Repair Café Silicon Valley has hosted over 100 events; these events typically have dozens of fixers that help over 100 customers in the span of 4 hours.

The concept isn't just about repairs; it's about community connection and environmental stewardship. Every item fixed is one less thing heading to a landfill, and every repair teaches valuable skills that participants can use again. There’s also the connection built when fixers pass down skills to others which we facilitate with our apprentice program.

A Stanford Connection

The Repair Café movement has deep roots in our Stanford community. Peter Skinner, a Stanford ’78 grad, spearheaded the very first Repair Café in the United States right here in Palo Alto over thirteen years ago. What began as separate grassroots efforts in Palo Alto and Mountain View have grown into Repair Café Silicon Valley, now encompassing all of Santa Clara Valley. This Stanford connection reflects the university's values of innovation, sustainability, and community service -- but applied to the everyday challenge of reducing waste and promoting a culture of repair over disposal.

How It Works

Attending a Repair Café is simple: bring your broken items to one of our events, and our volunteer experts will work with you to diagnose and fix the problem. You're encouraged to participate in the repair process, learning skills that will serve you well in the future. The experience is collaborative, educational, and often surprisingly fun.

Can't make it to an event but want to stay informed? We send out a monthly newsletter with event announcements and repair tips. If you have skills to share -- whether you're handy with electronics, skilled at sewing, or knowledgeable about bicycle mechanics -- you can join our volunteer opportunities list to receive details about upcoming events where your expertise would be most welcome.