Cork has a new Women's Shed: ‘Women don’t often find time to nurture themselves’

THE newly-formed Women’s Shed Cork South Lee (WSCSL) is holding its launch party this Friday, September 1 in the Carrigaline Family Support Centre, with weekly meetings to take place in that venue from 2-4pm every Friday going forward.

To facilitate those women who cannot attend the Carrigaline meetings, the group will also have an additional monthly meeting from 7-9pm on a Tuesday in Garryduff Sports Centre in Rochestown.

The launch party for this meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 26, with upcoming meeting dates to be confirmed in near future.

While the men’s shed movement in Ireland began over a decade ago, it was only a few years ago that its female counterpart began to make its mark. As women’s sheds began to pop up all over the country, in October of last year, Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys announced a fund of €100,000 to support these groups.

The new South Lee group joins a handful of other women’s sheds in Cork, including those in Midleton, Mayfield, Cobh and Beara.

The driving force behind the new South Lee shed is Shantie Tedjai-Carroll, who was born and raised in the Netherlands and has lived in Cork for the past 19 years.

“I have a wonderful family and great friends here, but it can still be quite isolating,” she says. 

I had seen there were men’s sheds and other groups, and I felt that we women needed something like that.

Shantie is no stranger to creating supportive spaces – she is one of three women who started Cork Menopause Support, a private Facebook group with over 800 members, which is aimed at Cork women who wish to share information and experiences of their perimenopause and menopause journeys with one another.

“Obviously, there’s a focus in that group on menopause, and it’s mainly a virtual space,” says Shantie.

“I thought that if we had a women’s shed, we could meet in person and be free to talk about anything. So because I knew some women through different avenues such as the Facebook group, I contacted them to tell them what I was thinking about doing.”

Together, they all decided to form the WSCSL.

“We felt there was a dire need for more third spaces where women could meet and create meaningful connections with other women, whilst building on their existing knowledge and skills base,” explains Shantie.

“Women often don’t find time to nurture themselves, and while we recognise the importance of self-care, we are realising that community care is also vital for our well-being and ability to function to the best of our ability.

It also fosters a sense of belonging, whether one is indigenous to these shores or has adopted Ireland as home.

Once plans for the new shed got underway, Shantie turned to the Cobh Women’s Shed for some guidance.

“We got great mentorship from them, they advised us on the different roles we needed to fill and we essentially copied what they did when they began their group.”

This led to the formation of a committee, which is made up of eight women, including Shantie herself and Joanna Dukkipati, founder of Good Day Cork. A venue also needed to be found, although this proved to be difficult.

“Renting a room or a hall costs money, and then you also need to pay for liability insurance, so it can all become expensive. And because we are a non-profit, we don’t have any money. It was very frustrating and disheartening trying to find somewhere to hold our meetings.”

The committee was therefore thrilled when the Carrigaline Family Support Centre stepped in to offer the group its premises, which operate out of the Lions Youth Centre on Church Road.

“Because we have been adopted by them, we don’t have to pay any rental or insurance fee as they cover that,” says Shantie. “So we are in the unique position where we can waive a membership fee.”

Shantie and her fellow committee members held an open day in mid-August in Carrigaline Library, so they could share WSCSL’s mission, vision and goals, which include fostering a sense of togetherness between women, improving connection, reducing isolation, learning and sharing new skills, and creating a positive community spirit.

With over 50 women of all ages and backgrounds in attendance, proposed events and projects for the upcoming meetings include physical activities such as pilates, yoga and dance, talks from healthcare professionals, creative writing, and board game days.

“We are inviting women to fill out a form on our website with suggestions of what they’d like to see at he meetings,” explains Shantie. “Our calendar will be finalised soon for the remainder of 2023.”

She is keen to point out too that any women over 18 are welcome at the WSCSL.

Membership is not based on your address – even if you live north of the Lee you can come along.

“You just need to complete the membership form and return it to us, and then you pay €5 each time you attend a meeting.”

Shantie says that they have all been heartened by the enthusiasm shown even before the weekly meetings have begun.

“There are already some amazing sheds in Cork, and we hope that the WSCSL will inspire other women around the county and country to set up their own ones to bring women in their locality together.”

More information at https://womensshedcorksouthlee.wordpress.com or by emailing womensshed.corksouthlee@gmail.com