Part of the furniture – and proud of it!



Joe Efi (third left) and his skilled carpenters display their tools outside the Sheltered Workshop in Port Moresby.

THE Sheltered Workshop, tucked away at the corner of Port Moresby’s School of Medicine, is a happy bustling place.   Here, in a well-equipped studio, Joe Efi and his team of seven skilled carpenters turn simple boards and planks into valuable pieces of furniture.  The talent and craftsmanship is remarkable but what makes this place special is that all these master craftsmen have had to learn to overcome some sort of disability, a fact you’d never guess witnessing their confident artistry and skill.

The furniture built here is quality stuff, tailor made and finely crafted for customers from all over Port Moresby and Central Province.  The Sheltered Workshop is always a hive of activity, their workmanship so well regarded that they find it hard to keep up with the constant flood of orders.  

Joe is the manager of the workshop and has worked here for over 7 years.  “We can make up to K1,000 a day and the money goes towards maintaining the workshop and paying the workers. But it is not only about the money, we are pleased to be able to produce something that another person can use and appreciate. We’ve had many people with disabilities come here and once we’ve trained them they move on to find employment elsewhere, and though we’re always sad to see friends move on, it’s incredibly exciting and satisfying to have helped them find a new career.’’

Sadly this kind of life changing opportunity is not available to every person with disability.  Other than the Sheltered Workshop there is currently no institution in PNG that offers vocational school training for persons with disability.  This is a situation the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons (PNGADP) wants to change with a recent boost of K238,000 from AusAID made available through the Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen program.  Hopefully this will mean that soon Joe and his team are joined by many other talented and productive people who just happen to also have a disability.

But for now the Sheltered Workshop craftsmen are all proud of their success and watching them hard at work one gets the sense that their inspiring enterprise is not only building furniture but also the dreams and aspirations of those who make it.

For information contact the Sheltered Workshop on Ph: 340 3610.