Originally published at: https://therestartproject.org/news/fixing-factory-funding-announcement/
We are so excited to announce that we’ve been awarded £1.27 million in National Lottery funding, in partnership with climate action charity Possible, to bring our innovative Fixing Factories to three new high streets across London over three years.
What is a Fixing Factory?
In 2022, we launched two Fixing Factory pilots in Brent and Camden, creating spaces where people can bring in broken electronics and appliances to be fixed for free, while gaining the skills they need to make repairs themselves in the future.
Fixing Factories generate public interest in repair. They create a series of stepping stones to take people from never having looked inside an electrical item towards, if they wish, fixing for others. They are designed to empower local communities by teaching people how to repair their own stuff. They give broken products a second lease of life, saving people money whilst helping reduce carbon emissions by avoiding the need for new items.
Why do we need a Fixing Factory on every highstreet?
We know that the UK public would love to repair their things more, 73% of Londoners have expressed a willingness to repair items rather than replace them if the process was more straightforward while nearly the same amount of people would like to learn repair skills to save money. But accessibility remains a hurdle. Nearly two-thirds of people in London say there is a scarcity of nearby repair shops, and it’s too expensive and hard to find other options.
That’s where Fixing Factories come in.
Fixing Factories have already engaged nearly 1,000 people in community repair sessions, saving 1.5 tonnes of e-waste and 40 tonnes of CO2e over the last 2 years.
With this funding we will be able to expand the Fixing Factory network across London over the next three years. We’ll open 3 new sites in Acton, Haringey and either Hackney or Islington, and keep our flagship site in Camden open.
The four sites will develop blueprints for future Fixing Factories, supporting a vision to bring affordable fixing and repair to high streets and communities in the UK.
Can you help us find a home?
We have the funding, now we’re looking for a home!
Could you help us with our search for a space in Hackney or Islington?
Please get in touch with shelini@therestartproject.org if you know of anywhere!
A huge thank you to National Lottery, Climate Action Fund and National Lottery players
This project would not be possible without the grant awarded by the National Lottery, Climate Action Fund, a £100 million commitment over 10 years from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes.