We’re excited to launch our new campaign shining a spotlight on the incredible volunteers who keep Scotland’s share and repair movement thriving.
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Volunteers are the heartbeat of Scotland’s sharing and repairing sector. Every day, they support our communities, tackle overconsumption, and help build a more sustainable society.
With their mix of talents, they help charities and social enterprises thrive, pouring energy into projects that cut down on waste and support local communities.
We’re inviting share and repair organisations across Scotland to join us in celebrating their volunteers by sharing stories and photos using the #ShareRepairAware hashtag.
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This week follow the #ShareRepairAware hashtag on socials and discover the amazing volunteers who power share and repair projects across Scotland.
- Celebrate sharing and repairing volunteers in Scotland.
- Hear stories from volunteers from across Scotland supporting share and repair.
- Discover volunteering placements at your local sharing or repairing charity.
- Learn about sharing and repairing in Scotland.
Search the #ShareRepairAware hashtag on socials to follow along!
#ShareRepairAware Facebook
#ShareRepairAware LinkedIn
#ShareRepairAware Instagram
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Do you know some of the ways volunteers support sharing and repairing initiatives in Scotland?
- Mending, repairing and maintaining – from fixing things at repair cafes, to ensuring equipment at sharing libraries is in good working order
- Being the friendly face of their organisation – welcoming customers and visitors
- Admin – recording essential data about repairs and loans
- Making tea & cakes! An important contribution to make sure projects are welcoming places
- Serving on boards or committees
- Being a flexible and enthusiastic pair of hands!
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Where can I discover volunteering opportunities with my local sharing and repair projects?
That’s easy. Take a look at our MEMBERS MAP.
Find sharing and repairing projects in your local area, visit their websites and social media and enquire about volunteering.
You can also follow the #ShareRepairAware hashtag on socials and support all the great sharing and repairing volunteers across the country.
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Meet Our Share and Repair Volunteers!
David
Repair Café Volunteer with ReMake Argyll
Winner of the Mid-Argyll Regional Hero Volunteer Award 2024
David plays a key role in ReMake Argyll’s Repair Café, combining his passion for reuse and a wealth of experience in repairing.
Working with ReMake Argyll…
“I try and repair stuff that I know is repairable and do it in front of the people who come to the café. I think it is important to do it in front of people. I try to show them that actually repairs can be quite easy and that there may be things that they can do at home without a repair guide. It’s not only saving stuff from landfill its also showing people how to do some basic fault finding so they can improve their own skills.”
Tackling inequality through repairing…
“Politics motivated me to be a volunteer. I grew up in South Africa, during the time of apartheid and this was hugely influential into how I saw inequality. I had a workshop at home and all my friends were from the local village. I would visit them and we would make things together in my workshop.”
“I used to climb mountains and notice all these broken African Taxis on the roadside, and I would speak to people. As soon I turned 17 I bought a broken VW and I would stop when I saw broken down taxis and I often could get them going. The guys couldn’t afford to get them going. There was a small garage, and I would train taxi drivers to do basic repairs on their vehicles. I visited the garage about 4 years ago and it’s still running, huge, and community owned.”
Building a community through fixing…
“One of the big things (I enjoy about volunteering) is meeting different people, the social aspect. I live alone and although I’m quite social it’s great to meet new people and have these conversations with folk I’ve never met before. The socio-economic thing comes in too.”
“It makes me feel really good to wake up in the morning and not just doing DIY around my home. The good thing about volunteering at the repair café is that you still feel like you are doing good. A lot of blokes when they retire have been so used to living to work rather than working to live.”
In 2025 ReMake Argyll held 11 repair cafes, 13 different volunteers gave 123 volunteer hours of their time, 69 items came through the repair cafes, 38 items were repaired with another 17 items having their fault diagnosed and replacement part identified.
Caroline
Volunteer with Fixing for a Future’s Repair Café
Caroline has been volunteering with Fixing for a Future’s Repair Café since 2024 after attending the Repair Café to have something fixed herself. An avid sewer, Caroline lends her skills to help repair all kinds of textiles, either stitching repairs by hand or using a sewing machine.
Working with Fixing for a Future…
“I’ve created a new pocket for a pair of jeans, taught someone how to hem trousers and fixed wings to a broken toy dragon, but what I like the most is when we put our skills together to fix a specific problem.”
“In addition to the Repair Cafe, I’ve also taken part in a few workshops with Fixing for a Future where clients bring their own items, old fabrics or curtains to be modified into something new. I also do that at home, for paying customers, but helping them create their own while being part of a festival or bigger community event is even more rewarding.”
Saving money whilst avoiding fast fashion…
“Since having children I became a lot more aware of consumerism, how many more things a family needs, the cost of life taking a toll on that and of course how much waste we produce. I’ve always been keen on buying less, grabbing a bargain at flea markets and second-hand shops or making my own clothes, but the way fashion has gone in recent years really opened my eyes to a bleak future if we don’t all do our part.”
“In addition of being a tailor for a living, I realised that not everyone can afford to alter their clothes and for them buying ultra-fast fashion sounds a lot easier, but in my opinion it’s all about educating as many people around us as possible that there is another way and yes, we have enough clothes on the planet to stop producing so much and enjoy what we already have.”
Volunteering and your sense of self…
“In addition to making great new friends and skills I learned from them, I have to say that there’s a selfish pride of saying out loud “I’m helping save the planet by teaching people how to fix their clothes!”. Very silly, I know, but if it can trigger one person to be jealous and want to start saying the same thing to other people and so on, the world would quickly become a better place.”
“The best reward is when a person returns and remembers you, showing all they have achieved since you shared your skills with them. I also felt extra flattered (and simultaneously humbled) when a very experienced co-volunteer said “there is a Repair Café before Caroline and a Repair Café after Caroline” mentioning my knowledge in sewing. It is stored forever in my ego-booster brain drawer!”
Fixing for a Future is now starting a free, weekly, volunteer-led sewing skills workshop at the library in Dunbar. The Repair Cafe runs approximately every 8 weeks, on a Saturday at East Linton Community Hall, EH403DN, 10am-1pm.
Trish
Volunteer Treasurer and Fundraiser for Inverness Tool Library
A committed volunteer, Trish has previously served as Chair of the Board for Inverness Tool Library, and now supports the Board as treasurer and fundraiser, as well as helping out in person at the tool library every week.
Working with Inverness Tool Library…
“I have experience of the non-profit sector, including that of managing a counselling charity for adults, and as chair for a young person’s counselling service in East London, so I’ve worked with volunteers over many decades. Having moved to the Highlands and now semi-retired, volunteering came as second nature.”
“Protecting the environment, reducing overconsumption and unnecessary waste, and ethos of the circular economy as a whole are values I strongly believe in, so when the opportunity arose in 2022 to join Inverness Tool Library in its infancy (then called Clachworks), where I could make a tangible contribution to the organisation’s future, I jumped at the chance.”
The power of working together…
“Watching the tool library evolve and grow over the last four years gives me a sense of achievement. When I joined, we had a modest collection of donated tools housed in a lock-up. Nowadays, it is a fully functioning operation with a team of enthusiastic volunteers, a large catalogue of DIY tools and gardening equipment, and a supportive membership. The process of establishing the library wouldn’t have happened without the help of many people and organisations assisting us; it’s been a truly inspiring process having the support of others.”
“The sense of giving back is especially satisfying, as is being part of the volunteering community. I enjoy meeting people, discussing life and swapping ideas. There is a creative process to volunteering: working things out when expectations don’t match reality, and resources aren’t readily available. However, with imagination, teamwork and resourcefulness, there’s never a dull day at Inverness Tool Library!”
Volunteers building for the future…
“2026 presents Inverness Tool Library with some exciting new challenges, not least with our move to a more settled and secure location within New Start Highland’s nascent ‘reuse/repair/recycle village’, which we completed in the final quarter of last year. There’s still a lot of bedding in to do in order to bring our new premises up to spec, but with longer operating hours and a far greater footfall, the principal focus now is to increase our volunteer numbers.”
To date, Inverness Tool Library has expanded both in terms of membership (currently numbering 177), and loans (c. 2,700). The Library also has 550 items, and has diverted approximately 22 tonnes of CO₂ from landfill. Although its volunteer roster is relatively small, they notch up around 40 volunteer hours per week, with the library open Tuesday/Wednesdays/Thursday 10am – 4pm, and Saturdays 10am – 1pm.
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Our Share and Repair Network supports sharing and repairing projects all over the country, helping their local communities reduce consumption by offering sustainable and affordable alternatives to buying new.
The Share and Repair Network is made up of Circular Communities Scotland members involved in sharing or repairing. We support and represent their work, while they tackle overconsumption and waste, mitigate climate change, and help their communities thrive.
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What exactly is SHARING and REPAIRING?
Sharing projects allow you to reduce your consumption by hosting a library of items which community members can borrow instead of buying new. Items available to borrow depend on the library, but can include books, toys, DIY and gardening tools, outdoor equipment, electronics, bikes, cleaning apparatus, kitchen utensils and recreational items.
Repair projects provide a supportive community space where you can bring a damaged or broken items to be repaired by skilled staff or volunteers. This can help you save waste by using repaired items instead of replacing them. Repair projects often repair for free, for voluntary donations, or have a no fix no fee scheme. You can bring whatever you need, including electronics, furniture, equipment, toys and devices to be fixed.
Learn more about SHARING, REPAIRING and the CIRCULAR ECONOMY.
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A big thank you to everyone who is joining in this week with our #ShareRepairAware; Volunteers Campaign.
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