There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about community Men’s Sheds. But what are they?
They’re based on the concept of the Australian backyard shed where a man would traditionally disappear, sometimes for hours, undisturbed by other members of the family. Historically a man’s shed is his castle where his partner doesn’t venture without explicit permission.
Inside, some bloke’s sheds look like a tradesman’s dream workshop. Others resemble a den built for the adulation of the owner’s favorite football team. Still others take on the form of a log-cabin-style lounge room, complete with a pot belly stove burning Red River Gum. Not one is the same - because they all reflect the characters of those who build and work in them.
Regardless of how they look, all backyard ‘Men’s Sheds’ (or ‘Man Caves’) serve a useful purpose.
Many of these places give life to projects for family members to enjoy. These could include hobby horses for grand-kids, mended bicycles, or minor construction works to produce trampolines or swing sets from flat-pack components. In other cases, the sheds appear more closely associated with servicing the owner’s immediate needs: for home brew; a place to tinker with automobile parts; and the like…
Importantly, a man’s shed is a place where a bloke can gather his thoughts in relative seclusion from the day-to-day bustle of life. It’s the place he goes to release tension after family or work associates get under his skin; where mates know he’ll be when he doesn’t want to be anywhere else; and it’s the place where he can feel safe to talk with others blokes who share his life’s journey: after all, he’s in his own backyard. And if he can’t speak his mind in the comfort of his own castle, then there’s something very wrong with the world.
So, what about the blokes who don’t have a luxury of their own man shed? In times of ever- increasing population growth, economic downturn and associated ‘down-sizing’, not all men have a shed to call their own, while others have given theirs up in the interests of financial security.
Enter the community ‘Men’s Shed’ movement.
Starting in Australia, and now with a global presence, the ‘Men’s Shed’ is a ‘non- profit, non-commercial organisation that is accessible to all men and whose purpose is the provision of a safe and friendly environment where men are able to work on meaningful projects at their own pace in their own time in the company of other men.’
Inside, old blokes and young blokes work alongside – in some cases, passing on skills and techniques to one-another. Whether it’s the elder passing on lost trades to the younger – or the younger man upskilling his seniors with new techniques to help them keep-in-touch with family hundreds of kilometres away. The master and his apprentice can take on many guises. Sometimes blokes will take the opportunity to fix lawn mowers and the like with other men who can’t afford a replacement. In some Sheds an indigenous elder might work with the next generation to make traditional weapons, arts or crafts. Meanwhile, some Sheds partner with local communities – hospitals, schools, environmental groups and the like, to provide comforts and amenities (toys, wheelchair access gardens, nesting boxes, etc.) for those who need a helping hand.
All of a sudden, the Men’s Shed becomes much more than a small building that houses tools and a fridge. It’s a temple of knowledge and a refuge for blokes to discuss successes, failures and emotions among other members of their own sex who seldom ask for help. Fears of exposing weakness are let-go as men gain confidence in the sense of community generated by the Shed. And a sense of meaning and satisfaction is created by the act of ‘passing it on’ and giving something back.
As the human species increasingly migrates to the cities and leaves the ‘villages’ behind, we separate ourselves from our community. And as our younglings grow-up and leave the nest for the bigger world, those of us who are left behind lose reliable sources of emotional support and are deprived of the opportunity to share in what we’ve learnt. Inevitably, this leads to a sense of loss.
The Men’s Shed can help fill this void.
So it was great to have the opportunity last weekend to see the achievements of one of these Men’s Sheds in the small coastal community of Culburra Beach. At the weekend community markets, the local Men’s Shed was selling a great collection of their woodworking products made to provide habitat and nesting boxes for miro-bats, bees, brush tail possums and the like. The enthusiasm the blokes had for their projects, and their pride in the links they were making with the local community, was obvious. And the positive impact these men were making to local conservation efforts was self-evident.
This Men’s Shed was clearly giving back to the community, and providing a sanctum for a group of blokes who might otherwise have found themselves socially disconnected. The members of Culburra Beach were Poster-Boys for what a Men’s Shed can achieve. And it was a privilege to walk away with an example of their handy-work, a micro-bat habitat, that will take-up a position of pride in Heiman Habitat HQ. As well as providing a safe haven for our local bats, it will be a reminder of the blokes’ efforts on behalf of the community and on behalf of each other.
To these men and others like them I say ‘thanks mate’. It’s good to know you’re there if, and when, we need you.