Therapy trim and talk
Isolation, emotional literacy and financial hardship are some of the key issues for farmers, says a barber who cut the hair of about 200 men at National Fieldays.
Sam Dowdall, 29, is on a mission to get men talking about mental health, one haircut at a time.
He is the man behind Barter Barber, a two-year charity project which swaps haircuts for goods, services or ko¯ha.
Originally from Mt Maunganui, Sam started the project a year and a half ago after having multiple friends commit suicide.
For the last year and a half Sam and his therapy dog Bobo have been travelling New Zealand in a 1971 Bedford ambulance — towing a barbershop caravan with it.
They are raising awareness around suicide prevention for men, particularly in rural communities.
Sam’s goal is to visit every town in New Zealand, and for the 50th Fieldays he opened a pop-up barbershop in the Health and Wellbeing Hub.
For four days Sam and another barber cut hundreds of men’s hair. About 90 per cent were farmers and most were in their 50s and 60s, Sam says.
Sam says cutting hair is an ice-breaker and allows men to relax and talk about their feelings.
“Sitting down and getting a haircut, having your face and neck touched, is a huge step of vulnerability,” he says.
“But this is how we prevent suicide — by starting a conversation and communicating with men.”
Sam says many of the men walked out of his popup barbershop with confidence.
“Hopefully some of them got something off their chest, too.”
■ Visit facebook.com/ TheBarterBarber/