The Sharing Shed
It’s been kindly described as someone having a temper tantrum.
The Sharing Shed before it was vandalised.
And tempers were certainly raised when a photo of a vandalised Te Awamutu Sharing Shed was circulated on social media last week.
The shed, a wood construction which has had a home on Anzac Green since 2017 been a place to share books and food.
Ange Holt
Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community Board chair Ange Holt is one of the “fairies” in the community who quietly look after the shed, keeping it all fresh – and sometimes removing items which should never have been left there in the first place.
Last week Shed lovers were shocked to see it had been pushed over the damaged.
“Someone has had a temper tantrum,” Holt said.
The Shed is no longer there – but The News understands more fairies have appeared and have taken it away to restore.
The Shed was launched by Sarah and Shaun O’Dea in in 2017 with the message – “if you’ve got a surplus of produce or a good book to share with someone in your community, you should visit The Sharing Shed on Anzac Green. Show your generosity or maybe just start a convo with one of your neighbours, it’s a hub where ideas, books and fresh fruit and veges flow freely.”
The couple are now based in Canada.
Over the years it has been a help for many – but not without its problems when unwanted visitors dump equally unwanted clothing and other items there.
“Holt said the shed has managed to “look after itself” thanks to help from the community.
She mentioned it in her regular column in The News in January last year when she wrote it had been a great asset to the town, “enabling the community to share produce, swap books and put up notices”.
But she also noted the clean ups had involved taking away boxes of expired food and rubbish.
The Sharing Shed after it was vandalised.
