Shed full of men runs out of room
Palmerston North’s Menzshed has done such a good job that it needs to expand.
Designed to provide a space where mostly retired men can put their manual skills to use while enjoying companionship, the community enterprise at Rangita¯ ne Park is asking the city council to allow it to grow.
For men like Daryl Dean, the shed has provided a sense of purpose, fulfilling a strategy of ‘‘health by stealth’’.
Dean had a heart attack at 55 and the damage to his heart ended a physical career.
‘‘I was feeling totally useless sitting at home. I felt I was just a burden.’’ Attending the workshop sessions twice a week has helped, because he is doing something constructive for other people, as well as enjoying the shoulder-to-shoulder company of other men.
But the shed is struggling to accommodate any more members and on busy days, the men are almost tripping over each other. Their projects include picnic tables at Hancock Community House, nesting boxes for Wildbase Recovery, stoat traps, and toys for childcare centres.
Chairman David Chapple said bigger projects, like playhouses, were a challenge because there was not enough room.
The storerooms are jampacked with items waiting to be recycled into something else to give to someone else.
City councillors at a recent sport and recreation committee were impressed with the results Menzshed was achieving for its members and the community and were open to allowing the extensions. Council parks and reserves manager Kathy Devertod said it was clearly well-run and orderly, but bursting at the seams.
The proposed 98-square-metre extensions to the front of the old army barracks and a loading bay at the side require a larger portion of the reserve.
That proposal needs to go out for public consultation.
Menzshed plans to work with Awapuni Rotary to raise money to pay for the improvements.