Repairing Brings People Together: Storytelling Café with Volunteers From the Repair Café in Gropiusstadt

A Space for Exchange and Networking: Participants at the "Repairing Brings People Together" storytelling Café (Photo: IÖW)

What effect does repairing have on people – and what does it take for even more people to find the courage to take on a repair themselves? The research team behind the project “The Role of Emotions in Social Innovations for Sustainable Consumption” (REsI), led by the IÖW, explored these questions on July 8, 2026, at a conversation café held at the “Kreisler” community-based repair and loan store in Gropiusstadt (Berlin). The event invited people who are involved in repair cafés or who are otherwise committed to repairing things.

Repair Is an Emotional Affair

It quickly became clear during the conversation that repairing is linked to emotions for those involved. “Making two people happy, that’s the whole point of the Repair Café,” as one participant put it: Repairers are happy when they find the fault and experience their guests’ gratitude. The guests, in turn, leave “happy” when – sometimes after initial hesitation – they dare to lend a hand themselves.

Many people who visit a Repair Café bring items that are of sentimental value. “What’s often missing is the courage to take it apart,” said one participant at the conversation café. Instead of repairing, people prefer to buy something new. This is exactly where Repair Cafés step in: by working together, repairers pass on that courage.

Places of Community and Hospitality

For the volunteers, Repair Cafés are more than just repair shops. “At Repair Cafés, it’s not just things that get repaired, but people too,” said one participant, capturing the essence of the evening. It’s no coincidence that these gatherings are called “cafés”: there’s coffee and cake, and some people come just to chat. Repairing thus becomes a shared activity that combats isolation and loneliness.

“It became clear how important hospitality is for this – welcoming people and making sure they feel comfortable and want to come back,” said REsI project leader Dr. Julia Fülling from the IÖW. “And: Repairing takes time. It’s precisely this time to deal with one’s own everyday objects that many people no longer take for themselves in their daily lives. Repair Cafés create a place where they can learn to do that again.”

Sharing Experiences Over Snacks in a Relaxed Atmosphere

Over snacks and in a relaxed atmosphere, the participants shared their experiences, successes, and frustrations – and discussed what framework conditions in politics, among manufacturers, and in society would make repairing easier. For the REsI team, the evening was a valuable opportunity to learn directly from the people who bring the concept of repairing to life every day.

Special thanks go to Kreisler in Gropiusstadt, which, as a community-based repair and loan store, was the ideal venue for this conversation café and helped organize the event.

The conversation café was funded as part of the REsI project by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV).