The Makers Project
What if community support didn’t end with a meal, a conversation, or a referral? What if it also included the tools, materials, products, and mentoring needed to create a genuine community enterprise?
FNB Hobart Makers is our attempt to answer that question.
The idea followed the model developed through Priscilla’s woodcraft adventures. Over many years, she created a practical system that combines product design, materials, tools, skills, and sales into something that can be taught and replicated. We are now adapting that approach for people experiencing hardship, disability, homelessness, and social isolation.
Rather than asking people to start from scratch, we provide a foundation. This includes access to timber and other materials, tools, a range of existing products that can be made and sold immediately, and a simple platform for developing new products when people are ready.
A key part of the project is our one-on-one mobile workshop model. Instead of expecting people to come to us, we can bring tools, materials, and mentoring directly to where people are. The focus is practical learning, building confidence, and creating products that have real value.
Our aim is not simply to teach a craft. It is to create pathways where creativity can become income, contribution, purpose, and community participation.
Like many of our Small Projects, the vision is for the model to be replicated. The people involved lead the project and make it happen. We provide the tools, the infrastructure, and the support.
We’re still learning, testing, and refining, but we’re excited by what is possible when community development, craftsmanship, and economic opportunity are brought together.
Read more about working with wood:
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