I’m medically retired but <50 and have tried going to multiple just to find stuff to do. Ended up using maker spaces instead which have a much much wider age group and a friendlier environment all round.
Maybe I should try to set something like this up. :)
I’m not really sure what could be done about it though since the machines and floor space is inherently quite expensive. Seems like something that should be somewhat government run like libraries to promote socialising.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdws0rrfK6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p1mQvyA7NE
others have a central interest (bookbinding | restoring ferries) and get grants based on the projects they undertake.
In the Australian rural district I'm in the local Men's Shed is more of a community shed (plenty of women using the space, doing related work, etc) with a lot of the equipment and land being pooled from the fully and semi retired who use the shed.
I have a tangential computer IT support|consult involvement, donate a bit of free time to give advice, and gave them a 48 TB NAS for pooling DVD collections of days gone by.
Also drones, gps, tractor hacking, etc.
Maybe start a system where people could lend their devices to the space, so they could earn some money on them long term. Depending of the initial cost of a device, I'd pay 10EUR-20EUR every time I'd use a special device. 10% of the profit goes to the makerspace, 90% to the device-lender. With 50-100 uses, you'd start making money. I could see something like this work.
Hopefully all of them around Australia aren't like this, but I have heard this same view from many people independently
Could never get a job anywhere. Never knew how to get a job, turned down by almost everything, then I heard one of the men's shed was doing some charity bike repair thing.
I figured I had nothing else to do, and chatted with one of the blokes, who had a brother that needed some IT help, and from there I was able to build up.
But exceedingly rare case, I'm aware
Totally unrelated, but this was very bleak. I think people ideally should have a couple of decades as a functioning but retired person.
They were built alongside commit blocks but some distance away so they represent a place of escape and socialization. Also, "garage economy" of small businesses run there is a thing.
A lot of weird videos from YouTube such as "remotely controlled Lada" or "a car on floor mops instead of tyres" were filmed in this setting.
They were one of the first businesses to use my CMS for one of their websites, so they hold a special place in my heart :)
I lived in a condo where car work was prohibited. But I also wanted loud machines etc.
I wasn't concerned with cost, but what's the liabilities? What if someone kills themselves accidentally with this dangerous equipment. Also for this reason, insurance companies won't touch you and there's legal regulations which basically make it impossible.
For the record gender doesn't matter.
But not so long ago, I saw an article about women trying to open a similar shed but finding there was a funding program which was specifically only able to men's sheds. I'm surprised they can get away with it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-21/huon-she-shed-project...
"While the local men's shed welcomes women, Ms Reardon said there were many women who wanted their own space."
It gets stranger and stranger.
I dunno, maybe ask the woman you quoted:
"While the local men's shed welcomes women, Ms Reardon said there were many women who wanted their own space.
"People like me that would feel intimidated going into what would traditionally be a man's space … want to learn with other women," she said."
The women themselves don't want to be around men because men are so horrible apparently.
Also, each sex tends to have a bit of a difference preference on how a meeting-space should be. For example: Most of my male friends tend to hang out in garages/sheds some of the time. Never seen a woman choosing a those locations.
Compare money that goes towards women's only shelters, organizations and charities. With money spend on those "sheds". Even dog shelters have better funding!
Australia does not have domestic violence shelters for men (first very small opened two years ago), but there are "sheds", where you are allowed to work while healing! Even dogs get more resources!
Honestly asking, as I'm not understanding where there's an insult in any of it.
If woman is in trouble, she gets hotline, accommodation and all sort of services for free. If men is in trouble, he can build furniture!
I am not surprised Wikipedia avoids this section.
