THE Bendigo Women\u2019s Shed was a hive of activity last Thursday morning when doors were officially opened to the public.<\/p>\n
Movers and shakers behind the organisation, Prue Clarke and Jo Haynes, said they were overjoyed to see the turnout of women coming to chat, connect and plan for the future of the shed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sound behind me is what we\u2019ve wanted for nearly a year. To hear that just makes me feel so happy,\u201d Ms Clarke said.<\/p>\n
Ms Haynes, who originally floated the idea for one of her TAFE classes, said it was bigger and better than she ever imagined.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first started designing this concept for that original project, I was only thinking of a little tiny shed with about 10 people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Prue and I got together and it was like \u2018woah, no, let\u2019s think bigger!\u2019 and we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cConstantly, ideas are flowing at us. It\u2019s all a matter of now finding time, planning and putting it into place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re writing the book,\u201d Ms Clarke added.<\/p>\n
While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the establishment of the shed, behind the scenes work was done to prepare the space.<\/p>\n
An October bake sale and Bunnings sausage sizzle were held to fundraise money for workshops, while a recent working bee saw women remove almost 400 kilograms of weeds from the exterior of the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumbling was the only word I could think of,\u201d Ms Clarke said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve developed a real team now and it\u2019s branching out,\u201d Ms Haynes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrue and I keep checking in to say, \u2018always go back to what people wanted\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Planning committee member Andy Schloss said, for many women, that was learning home maintenance like how to hang a picture, replace a tap washer or even service a lawn mower.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much we can do. Each group is set up for the women and what they want, then it can really run itself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Bendigo Women\u2019s Shed was a hive of activity last Thursday morning when doors were officially opened to the public. Movers and shakers behind the organisation, Prue Clarke and Jo Haynes, said they were overjoyed to see the turnout of women coming to chat, connect and plan for the future of the shed. \u201cThe sound […]<\/p>\n