Sustainable Queenstown: The Heart of the Repair Revolution

Repair Revolution events are a place where you can literally see the world becoming a better place one item at a time. They are magical spaces where 37 year old family heirloom teddy bears come back to life, warm merinos and favourite jeans are restored for many more years of comfort, toasters can toast again, vacuums can suck again, a scooter wheel is fixed with its young owner immediately heading for the skate park, a fixed Operation game buzzes and lights up a toddler's face, and a cake stand fixed, ready to display the next baking masterpiece in someone's kitchen.

All of this is possible because of our team of Repair Heroes, who welcome the community with warm smiles and sew, glue, solder, rewire, patch, ziptie, sand, saw, drill (we may exceed the word count if we really tell you how awesome they are) and share their repair and care skills with the community. Not only have they have saved over 500kgs of items from ending up in landfill across 5 events, giving a collective 250 hrs, they have inspired every single individual walking through the doors to think twice before binning something broken, and give mending it a go. They are shifting mindsets from replace to repair, from rough use and throwaway to care and maintain. One thing we see them truly enjoying is the connection with each other that has gone beyond collaborating on a tricky repair. We would love to bring them all together and celebrate their impact this National Volunteer Week.

Story written by Sustainable Queenstown for our Volunteer Celebration Stories campaign to celebrate National Volunteer Week 2026.