Bega District Woodcraft Association, or Woodies for short, have long recognised the need to attract younger and more diverse members into its organisation. But with a largely aging population using its sheds, the association was stumped on how to do it.

That's where 45-year-old Sarah Davis came in, with fresh ideas on how to encourage more members to join.

Ms Davis has been the main driver of a Woodies open day where people have been invited to come and make a chopping board, box, or their own DIY project over two days in July and August 2022.

The interest in the community for woodworking became obvious after the two sessions were completely booked out just a couple of weeks after being advertised.

Ms Davis said a diverse group of people had signed up including women of all ages, some neuro-diverse people and their support workers, a father and his son, a husband and wife duo, and individuals on low incomes.

READ MORE: Bega Woodies invite community to open day in a drive for new members

She learnt the basics of her craft from Bega's Two Sheds Workshop founder and carpenter Jo Saccomani who runs a women's and children's woodwork shed.

After gaining some of the skills she needed, she started coming to Woodies as it was a bit more "open art" and allowed for a lot of creative freedom.

READ MORE: Meet the women nailing beginner woodwork course

She said her fellow Woodies members had made it easy to transition, as they were helpful, skilful, and highly experienced.

One member helped her craft the kitchen cabinetry at her Mount Darragh property and another has been helping her restore antique furniture that was damaged in the Black Summer bushfires.

Ms David lost a few thousand dollars worth of tools and machinery to the blaze, including a table saw passed down from her father, so the Woodies shed has allowed her to keep creating thanks to a shared tool system.

"I've found that once you know how to join something, like a box, then you can make drawers and cabinets, so I think that's really handy because once you know how to make things, you know how to fix them too."

Ms Davis said she felt inspired by the idea that she could use her "transferable skills" do build a dwelling if she needed and knew of another woman who built her own tiny house with the skills of the craft.

Ms Davis said she wasn't encouraged as a child or during her school years to take up woodwork but had seen changes in more recent years to encourage children of all genders to have those important life skills.

"One of my neighbours welded her own rotisserie at Eden High a few years ago."

She said women could feel intimated inviting tradies they didn't know into their household, so learning to use a power tool or fix household items would make them feel more confident and capable in their own abilities.

"Sometimes women have a tendency to stand back and the men get right into it or are extra helpful, but for me I don't actually learn things properly unless I do it myself," she said.

RECENT NEWS:

She also thought naturally independent people who liked to be self-sufficient would benefit from joining a woodworking shed, as well as people on low incomes. She said members often had access to donated wood, so it was a fairly accessible hobby.

"We bulk buy things together here too. One of the Woodies has a contact and we buy big sheets of strong plywood. It's handy and much cheaper to buy things together," she said.

Woodies President Bruce Dunlevie said younger members like Ms Davis brought a lot to the group and she had been a driving force in raising their membership numbers.

"Accessing the internet is something we're not all that familiar with."

He thought modern women were looking to be "more versatile" and did not want to be as reliant on men or tradies coming in and the associated expenses of completing those tasks.

"There's nothing men do that women couldn't do, it's just that traditionally they haven't been encouraged to do so," he said.

The membership at Bega Woodies is $104 a year. You can find out more information here.

Love your regional news? Then sign up for the Voice of Real Australia, daily news from across the country delivered free to your inbox