Best Bird © Paul Warrender

Paul’s wife, Jude, says,

Paul was a quantity surveyor by day, but art was one of his passions and he developed his skills all his life. In the ‘70s and ‘80s he produced many graphics on a voluntary basis for local community groups, but he took printmaking very seriously. I hope people in Sheffield will enjoy this show.

The exhibition is being curated by Sheffield’s Cupola Gallery. Karen Sherwood, Managing Director of Cupola, says,

We are delighted to support this exhibition. Paul was clearly a talented and sensitive artist, and the themes in his work are by turns enigmatic, thought provoking, funny and full of insight.

Often working in black and white, Paul creates strong, bold images through his confident command of graphic styles and techniques. We believe this will be of interest to other printmakers as well as the general public. His work is delightful and very accessible.

The Gallery is open at The Circle, Sheffield S1 4FW, Monday to Friday, 9.00 am – 5.30 pm. Some prints are for sale via The Cupola Gallery, along with an accompanying book profiling a broader range of Paul’s work.

Proceeds from sales of prints and postcards will be donated to Tools for Self Reliance.

A project to help museums in Scotland get their collections in better shape is having a positive impact further afield. Under the Old Tools New Uses project, a partnership between the industrial collections arm of the National Museums Scotland and Tools for Self Reliance, museums have been busy rooting out duplicate industrial and domestic tools in their collections and handing them to Tools for Self Reliance.

The tools are already making a difference to artisans and their families in Africa. One of them, a leg vice, was on our last consignment of tools to Sierra Leone.

The project also shows what can be achieved through partnership working in the UK. As well as making a difference to the musuem service in Scotland it is helping to drive home the recycling message in schools, with the creation of new teaching resources.

“I like this project so much because it is outward looking. It puts a group of collections in the context of the world around us and then acts accordingly to make those collections understood, sustainable and useful.”Sally Colvin, Museum Association

Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last year. If you are a first time visitor we hope these web pages will give you a flavour of the work we do. As our thoughts turn to 2012, and the projects and challenges that lie ahead, it’s more important than ever that we can count on your support.

Have a wonderful festive season!

Read our 2011 stories from Africa

Tools for Self Reliance’s Sarah Ingleby and Jon Dunkley have just returned from a successful partner visit to Sierra Leone where, according to Jon, “The atmosphere is very positive and people are looking to the future, trying to rebuild their lives and trying to do better.”

One of our partners the Council of Churches Sierra Leone in Moyamba received a leg vice which was given an enthusiastic welcome: “When they got that [leg vice] the village danced for two days!” I P Bangura

Carpentry workshop, CCSL, during a visit in 2010

The latest toolkit to roll off our production line is a sewing machine maintenance kit, making it easier to keep the hundreds of sewing machines we send to Africa each year in tip top condition. As well as being our newest toolkit the sewing machine maintenance kit is also our smallest yet.

It was the brainchild of volunteer refurbisher and former teacher at Sparsholt College Alan Busher (61) from Romsey.

The new kit features some unusual items among its 20 or so tools, including a bespoke feeler gauge and a toothbrush for cleaning all the small moving and hard to get at parts. According to Alan, hard or medium toothbrushes work best!

The team has also come up with an ingenious way of boxing up the tools which reuses the drawers from treadle sewing machines. Alan said, “This is a good use of damaged treadle sewing machine bases which are beyond economic repair and would otherwise be thrown away.”

L to R: Operations manager Jon Dunkley and volunteer Alan Busher holding aloft some of the tools in the new kit

This Christmas you can help. A donation of £20 pays for two fully restored sewing machines for a small workshop in Africa. For this and other good gift ideas check out our online shop.

“We heard about the project through a friend who’d been on a previous training course. We applied for a place and I got the opportunity to go. The things I learnt on the course I was able to pass on to other members of my group and other artisans in the area.

“I learnt about customer care, particularly how to speak nicely to people and give good service. I was told that we could market our products better by taking photos of them and showing them to people in new places. I was taught how to price things properly and keep track of income and expenditure. On the technical side, I learnt new products and designs, and how to manage a workshop and produce better quality items. The teachers were very good and made the experience fun.

“The outcomes of the training have been great. Our production has increased by about 25% and the work is much easier thanks to our new tools. We can afford better materials by taking a deposit along with an order. We’re planning to open a savings account and in 12 months time have electricity in the workshop to increase production even more.

Best of all, the extra income means our families can now have good meals and milk to improve their health. We can afford to send our children to school and give them better health care.

“Thank you SIDO and Tools for Self Reliance for what you have done.”

More stories from Africa

I learnt about business planning, pricing, record keeping and marketing. I enjoyed the training and I have shared what I learnt with the other members of my group, but there’s a lot more I still want to learn.

“Charging a realistic amount for our furniture and keeping good records have been the two biggest changes we have made. We now charge according to what we spend and we are able to put money back into the business to make it more effective.

“The new tools have been a great help – they are of much higher quality than our old ones. We’re far busier than we were and we can charge higher prices because we’re making better furniture.

“I have enough money to send my children to school and buy my family good clothes and food. We no longer worry about where the next meal is coming from. Thank you to the people who donated their tools to Tools for Self Reliance and thank you to the volunteers who refurbished them.”

More stories from Africa

Eva Emmanuel Charles lives in the Ruvuma region of Tanzania. Eva did a course in tailoring and business skills run by one of Tools for Self Reliance’s partners, the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO).

“Our group needed more sewing machines. I’d heard that SIDO could help us with that, but I didn’t realise that they could help with training too. The training and sewing machines we received have helped us to triple our sales.

“I learnt about pricing, customer service and record keeping, and how to maintain sewing machines and improve the quality of what I make. Before, our customers dictated prices to us, saying how much they would pay. But now we’re taking into account the cost of material and labour, and making sure the final price lets us have some profit. Our record keeping used to consist of basic order information and measurements, but now we keep track of income and expenditure which means we can make plans for the future. We also market our products by hanging dresses up as display items, attracting new customers.

“Our new sewing machines have given us the ability to make clothes more quickly. Our income has shot up and we have opened a bank account to help us manage our money and expand. The project has changed our mindsets and widened our knowledge – we’re more ambitious and are working hard to develop our business. The extra income has helped me cover my own household expenses, and earn a little bit more. I now keep chickens and I sell the eggs.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the project, and please keep supporting groups like mine. There are many tailors in the area who could use your help.”

More stories from Africa

Stuck for a New Year resolution? Don’t worry – help is at hand! The British 10K London Run on 8 July is the perfect curtain raiser to the 2012 Olympics, and you could be there by taking part in Team Tools for Self Reliance. It’s not just about the running of course. We’d also like you to raise as much money as possible to help pay for tools and training to give unemployed youngsters in Africa a fresh start.

We can assist with publicity but it will be down to you to raise your sponsorship money. Set up a fundraising page on JustGiving, ask your friends and family to sponsor you, or contact your local press, university or college newspaper. It will be a gold star for your CV and a great excuse to get fit!

If you’d like to know more, email us at jo@tfsr.org or call Jo on 023 8086 9697.