Canberra’s first and only Women’s Shed gains permanent home in Greenway

We’ve all heard about the growing Men’s Shed movement across Australia.

But where do women go when they want to play with tools and spin a yarn with friends?

Sunita Kotnala established Canberra’s first and only Women’s Shed in 2020, initially operating out of the Thor’s Hammer furniture-making business in Griffith.

Now she’s celebrating a new milestone, with the shed opening its own permanent home at the Wave Centre building in Greenway, Tuggeranong.

“While we have been very happy at Thor’s Hammer and want to thank Thor Diesendorf, the owner, for giving us workshop space every Saturday. We have to move out because of the growing needs of our venture,” Ms Kotnala said.

“I invite women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, orientation and ability to meet at our new shed to get inspired, create and build things.”

Ms Kotnala explained the idea behind her Women’s Shed concept.

“As women, we don’t get exposed to working with power tools or fixing things,” she said.

“If something goes wrong in the house and we don’t have someone who is handy, we might end up living with something broken … or paying someone to fix small things.

“That’s why I founded this shed, where we run workshops for women.

“It’s also a space where they can come and do projects. They might bring in a small table or chair that their grandfather built and use their tools to convert it to something else. Or they might want to make a picture frame and learn how to hang it. All those sorts of things.”

Ms Kotnala said forming friendships was another aspect of the shed – which has more than 50 members, aged between 20 and 80.

“The Women’s Shed can be addictive,” she said. ”The sense of creativity, fulfilment and friendships is priceless, and I find myself wanting to spend more time at the shed.”

Federal Member for Bean David Smith said he was impressed by Ms Kotnala’s venture after cutting the ribbon at the new Greenway premises.

“The shed has a whole range of workshops, from hand tools 101 to repairing fly screens and drywall repair, but more importantly, it’s a vehicle for empowerment and social connection,” Mr Smith said.

Over the past four years, the Women’s Shed Canberra has grown steadily, adding themed workshops at the Kambah Scouts Hall in 2024 in addition to launching the Mobile Women’s Shed in 2023.

The mobile van has travelled to several suburbs and made it possible to introduce power tools to many more communities of women across the ACT.

“We run regular paid workshops for members and non-members alike, and provide drop-in sessions where members are welcome to bring along their own projects and use power tools safely under the supervision of a qualified tradesperson,” Ms Kotnala said.

She said the new location in Greenway provided an opportunity for the Women’s Shed to grow as a social enterprise by running more paid workshops in home repair and maintenance while also encouraging women to consider careers in construction trades.

Ms Kotnala thanked Thor’s Hammer, East Hotel, Capital Chemist Kingston, Narrabundah Medical Centre, Mill House Ventures, Scyne Consulting and Bunnings for their support, as well as the territory and federal politicians from across all party lines for believing in and encouraging the organisation.