Teaching young children to work with their hands is an invaluable investment. So, when we met Gareth Payne, founder of Woodworking 101, we simply had to get involved and help him build his initiative. Woodworking 101 is a training course for kids, that teaches them basic woodworking hand tool skills.

Before getting involved, we sat down with Gareth to find out more?

CIB: What inspired you to start Woodworking 101?

Gareth: Besides using their hands to make woodwork projects it allows the kids to be creative and be allowed to make mistakes. Using your hands is becoming a lost skill and if I can make a difference with some of them later on in life then mission accomplished!

CIB: Why do this?

Gareth: There is definitely a desire for kids to do more than just sit behind screens and get bogged down by whatever the next game or fad may be, the gap comes in where dads don’t have the know how, space, time or tools to get this done… Thankfully I have a bit more of all of these. I do believe that there are also some valuable life lessons being built, because of the time frame being 2 hours ever other week this is creating an element of non-instant gratification and patience. Understanding that this will take time and needs to follow a process is something that I think we all need to learn young and old. I have been asked a few times by people if I am crazy starting them so young? The truth is why not… this is my vision! Being able to do things on your own will create such a sense of accomplishment that can be admired them and in some cases by others as well.

During the course, the kids learn to use jigsaws, sanders, routers, drills and other power tools. We will be assisting Gareth, by sponsoring some DEWALT and Black&Decker products. Look out for more posts about the course. Email us if you would like more information about the course. ([email protected])