Sarah and Shaun O'Dea have started a sharing shed to encourage the townspeople of Te Awamutu to start conversations and exchange goods. But getting the balance between givers and takers can be a bit of a challenge, says Shaun.
Sarah and Shaun O'Dea have started a sharing shed to encourage the townspeople of Te Awamutu to exchange goods. Photo: Facebook / The Sharing Shed
Shaun is originally from Te Awamutu, but spent 15 years away.
After noticing the town character was fading, he was keen to see what I could do to help retain it, he says.
The shed is made out of donated or scrounged recycled materials.
Currently, the stall has books, seasonal produce such as citrus, rhubarb and persimmon and sometimes homemade preserves. People have been known to take citrus early in the week then a few days later drop off jars of marmalade.
But some in the community seem not to have not yet grasped that sharing can mean leaving something for others, says Shaun.
They are working on that, alongside encouraging people in the community to think more about what they might be able to share via the stall.
"I'm kind of obsessed with it. I tend to stroll past inauspiciously a couple of times a day and see if there's some good stuff in there," he says.
