The launch of Nottingham Fixers was heralded as a success, after volunteers helped fix lamps, radios, irons, door locks & more.

Nottingham Fixers is a new voluntary group, partnering with Nottingham Hackspack, the Skills Exchange Timebank and Co-oproduct to run a Fix-it space, at Sneinton Market on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

This repair space aims to help people fix items, by not only fixing them, but by teaching them how to fix, so in future they can fix items instead of buying new.

The person behind the idea, Greg Hewitt, said: “I set up Nottingham Fixers because we have a major problem with consumption, and we are in a society where people are very happy to buy new things when they break, instead of fixing them, simply because it is easier & cheaper.”

"We are in a tough economic situation and at a time where people can’t afford to buy many new things, so by fixing items for them, we can not only save them money, but save these items from going to landfill”

Just as when people take their car to a mechanic, people often fear that when they take their broken gadgets to a repair shop they will be overcharged or bamboozled by jargon. 

The idea with Nottingham Fixers is to overcome that fear by getting people involved with the repair process themselves.

Matt Little, one of the first fixers, said: 

“I joined Nottingham Fixers as I would like to empower people to take control of the technology they use every day - this will enable people to be more self-sufficient and reduce the amount of resource-intensive equipment being thrown away”

“People will be surprised about how easy it is to pick up the skills and how simple it is. And how it can have a fundamental impact on your outlook on life, becoming more confident and self-sufficient.”

All volunteer fixers are part of the Skills Exchange timebank, which means if they spend an hour helping someone, they then bank an hour and can claim it back when they themselves need help. Anyone is welcome to join to become a fixer.

For more information, go to www.nottinghamfixers.co.uk or email info@nottinghamfixers.co.uk.