GEORGE NEWS - This year the Working with Wood Show, held in association with the Association of Woodturners South Africa (AWSA) is to be held at the beautiful Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) George Campus from Friday 26 till Sunday 28 August.
The American Association of Woodturners'(AAW) Board, on invitation of the AWSA, will launch two of their outreach initiatives, Turners without Borders (TWB) and Women in Turning (WIT) during this festival of wood.
The pilot sites identified are in the Karatara District, in partnership with the Tertiary School in Business Administration and George, together with the campus of the NMMU, in partnership with the School of Natural Resource Management (Wood Technology).
Garden Route based experienced woodturners have agreed to provide mentoring to members of the community throughout their journey to acquiring woodturning skills.
Carmen de la Paz, an international DIY icon, will launch the initiative.
Women in Turning
In parallel with the TWB project, AWSA will be launching the Women in Turning (WIT) project in recognition that globally, women are top woodturners. Among other drivers, the WIT project will be designed to generate income to expand the TWB project to other regions in South Africa.
Because of De la Paz's passion and commitment to the development of those less fortunate, she has committed both her time and personal funds to the launch of this project in South Africa during the Working with Wood Show.
The AWSA symposium will run throughout the Working with Wood Show. There are still a few seats available for this symposium where woodturners will be taught numerous and various woodturning techniques.
The Working with Wood team are also offering three days of woodworking demonstrations and workshops at no charge.
Entry to the Working with Wood Show is R20 per adult and free for children under 12.
For information contact Fran Kirsten on 082 416 3398 or fran@out-there.co.za and for information about the Woodturners Symposium contact Alex Johnson on alex@circumference.co.za.
