The Women’s Shed Canberra going mobile
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Ever thought to yourself that you wanted to learn a trade? Become your own handyman?
Have you heard of the Women’s Shed Canberra?
Created during the pandemic in 2020, to provide women with the opportunity to develop new skills and abilities and be mentored in an environment where they feel safe and nurtured, the Women’s Shed was founded by Sunita Kotnala to inspire, create, and build community cohesiveness through acquiring power tools competency and trade skills that would improve day to day lives.
Currently operating two times a week from Thor’s Hammer in Griffith on a Saturday and Hughes Community Shed in Hughes on Tuesday (with classes introducing women to power tools, changing locks, working with pallets, and much more), the program empowers women with more than just tools.
With many of the original members remaining active (with other moving on once they have acquired the skills they need or finished their special project), Sunita realised that “not many women from vulnerable backgrounds were attending sessions.”
So, the Mobile Shed was born!
“One of the main reasons for this was a lack of transport options. Having a mobile shed means that we can take the opportunity to acquire new skills and built new friendships with groups of women who are unable to attend,” she says.
With the van already operating, but one of the regular stop off spots will be at Barnardos Youth Centre. The van will go out to Barnardos once a week for around four hours, with the eventual goal to have the Mobile Shed go to more places around Canberra – such as universities and new housing developments.
“We will be taking the van to Barnardos regularly along with a qualified instructor, one day a week for three to four hours at a time,” says Sunita.
“We hope over time to expand this service to other communities across Canberra such as new housing developments and universities.”
For more information visit womensshedcanberra.com.au
