FIRST REPAIR CAFÉ IN THE WESTERN BALKANS OPENS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The first official Repair Café in Bosnia and Herzegovina – and in the entire Western Balkans – has been opened in Mostar with a wood restoration workshop, as part of the project “Circular Economy in Action: Educational Repair and Sustainability Workshops for Youth.”

PHOTO: Repair cafe

The initiative was launched by the association Radionica Garaža Mostar, which organized a three-day program of workshops in its premises located within the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Džemal Bijedić University. The program began with hands-on training focused on restoring wooden items.

Anida Čmanjčanin, project manager and co-founder of Garaža, emphasized that the initiative is part of a global movement that places Bosnia and Herzegovina alongside cities such as Amsterdam and Berlin. The core idea is to change the way people perceive everyday objects, restoring a sense of value to items in a relaxed, social setting over coffee.

“The first Repair Café was founded in Amsterdam in 2009, driven by the desire to encourage people to stop throwing things away, to gain repair skills, and to work together as a community. Beyond saving money, it is about learning skills and protecting the environment,” Čmanjčanin explained.

The Radionica Garaža association has been active for three years and operates as a classic makerspace – a space for experimentation and for acquiring new knowledge and skills in the fields of modern technologies and traditional crafts.

One of the key principles promoted by Garaža, and a guiding idea behind the Repair Café concept, is the need to avoid the trap of excessive consumerism in modern society.

“The most important thing is not to become a typical consumer who immediately buys something new when an item breaks. Bosnia and Herzegovina already has a culture of repairing things, but for various reasons – fear of repair or of asking for help – people often decide to throw items away. Another reason is the lack of access to tools or spaces like a Repair Café,” Čmanjčanin added.

Following its official opening, Repair Café Mostar will continue to operate as a permanent initiative, offering regular, free sessions open to the public. In this way, Mostar is positioning itself as a regional leader in promoting circular economy principles, reports eKapija.