A backyard initiative is keeping blokes busy in North Canterbury. The Cheviot MenzShed is a tooled-up workshop where men can tinker, talk and share their skills with the local community.

A backyard initiative is keeping blokes busy in North Canterbury.

The Cheviot MenzShed is a tooled-up workshop where men can tinker, talk and share their skills with the local community.

On the spur of the moment, I popped in while in the Hurunui District to record farming stories.

It was a wet and cold day but Bruce Nicol was there with some fellow members.

"We're often here and sometimes not much works gets done! But we sort out all the political problems and sporting issues that might be going on," he said.

The first men's shed was opened in Australia in 1998. One of its goals was to promote social activities and provide vital health information to its members.

Bruce said the atmosphere of old-fashioned mateship is still a core philosophy, especially for retired folk.

"We've got a number of our members living alone and, on days like this, it can be too easy just to sit in the lazyboy and watch TV, when we have activities that you can do here."

Some men are still reluctant to talk about their health and don't ask for help. The MenzShed often fills this gap.

"If there's issues going on healthwise we might get the district nurse to come and talk about prostate cancer or something like that," he said.

And most importantly, there's the joy of making and restoring things and learning new skills.

The sawdusty machine shop is home to several large woodworking machines, most of which have been donated.

There's also an engineering room where people learn how to weld.

It's not just for oldies either. Younger blokes are on the work benches too.

"Our youngest member came when he was 16 and he's away now doing an apprenticeship," Bruce said proudly.

People with disabilities are also encouraged to join.

"We've got two guys that are severely sight impaired. We get them involved but we've got to be careful we don't put them near a saw bench."

There's nothing much the multi-skilled team of Cheviot DIY-ers can't do when they put their minds to it.

Recently, a couple of local farmers donated a combine harvester to the MenzShed.

"We actually drove it from the farm to a yard down the road here and we dismantled it and raised $3000 dollars!"

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details