This paper analyses two structured adaptations of the Repair Café (RC) model developed by Maakbaar Leuven in Belgium: the Herstel Hub Elektro, a weekly appointment-based community repair service, and Corporate Repair Cafés (CRCs), a repair café organised by companies for employees. Both initiatives target small appliances that are often uneconomical to repair commercially, aiming to improve the predictability and financial viability of RCs. The Herstel Hub, launched in 2024, used one-hour appointments, a €25 contribution, and a mix of paid and volunteer repairers. Between February 2024 and August 2025, it hosted 75 sessions, repaired 234 devices with a 42% success rate, and showed that failed repairs often took as long as successful ones. CRCs were piloted at two enterprises, where employees accessed free on-site repairs during work hours, supported by at least one compensated repairer. Across five events, 109 devices were assessed, with 41% fixed and 43% deemed end of life. Compared with global RC data, which shows a 53% average fix rate, both models delivered slightly lower repair success rates, yet improved accessibility and potential scalability. These results illustrate how hybrid initiatives can bridge the gap between costly professional repair and volunteer-led activities, and they highlight design trade-offs for scalable community repair.
Bunodiere et al. (Thu,) studied this question.