Continuing our series of interviews connecting with other organisations in Wales which share our core values of waste reduction, skill sharing and community cohesion, we spoke with Norman Industries about their exciting repair and reuse projects.
Norman Industries, part of Pembrokeshire County Council offers supported employment and volunteering opportunities from its base in Haverfordwest. Earlier this year in association with other organisations in Pembrokeshire we set up Pembrokeshire Circle with its ethos Share, Repair, Extend.
As well as a Library of Things based in Haverfordwest and repair workshops around the county, there have been monthly Repair Café based at our Shop at Scolton Manor seven miles outside Haverfordwest.
We were very lucky that the ‘steam team’, an established crew of volunteers already at Scolton Manor were coming to the end of a long project to refurbish ‘Margaret’ A steam train now part of the Steam Village attraction at Scolton Manor, and were able to bring their fixing skills to the repair café events.
Volunteer fixer Jeff Beard commented “it’s a real privilege to repair these personal items for people, which have been sat in cupboards and not used. Bringing the items back to life ensures that they are enjoyed for years to come.’’
Since our first event in May, we have repaired around sixty items, and we were pleased to be able to host our first drop in event in August, the previous three events being by appointment due to managing numbers attending during covid restrictions.
The Scolton Manor Repair café takes place 1pm -4pm on the second Thursday of each month and further repair cafes are planned in other locations later this year. For further information contact; sharerepairextend@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
