OUR STORY

“Building sheds that will serve their communities well.”

February 2017 our founder Jocelyn accepted the offer to start and manage a women's group based at the Rotorua Community Men's Shed.

Within four months we had twelve members, an organising committee, a logo, a Facebook page, a retired tutor, meeting three times a week, building a bed base with students from a local school, and an ambitious dream to fundraise for a transitional building for homeless women and their children.

Not all of the men supported what we were doing we carried on anyway.

It was clear our kaupapa was different so we decided to move and set up a shed for women. Some months later Jocelyn found a building at the Ngongotaha Railway Park to rent on a month to month trial basis.

John Whyte from The Tool Shed saw our article, really liked what we were trying to do for women, and his hometown of Ngongotahaha. Tool Shed Rotorua became our first sponsor and continues to support us. So grateful!!

In 2018 we moved into a garage at Linton Park Community Centre on another trial basis. Their committee supported our application to the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust to buy tools. You can imagine with all this moving and uncertainty we’d lost momentum from our members. That was a really tough year!

In October 2018 before moving to Tauranga, a teacher Jocelyn knew from Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science and Technology arranged to meet with her principal and look at a space that could be suitable. It was amazing! We talked about the idea of the rangatahi helping us with projects as part of their learning. After two years of negotiating with the Board of Trustee and the Ministry of Education, we were given a three year ‘License to Occupy’.

As a new organisation we had to stay strong and push through Covid 19 and it's paying off. We are listening and responding to the needs of our communities now catering for women and men 15 years and older. Supporting community groups desperately looking for programs to send their clients as part of their 'holistic healing.' Their mana, wairua, hinegnaro and tinana.

DIY Shed Tauranga started in March 2022 based at the Tauranga Mens Shed twice a week using their building, tools and equipment. We're seeing the same needs here as in Rotorua.

“We have and always will be a women focused community friendly organisation inclusive of young people and men.