Newport based social enterprise Reseiclo Community Wood Recycling, recruits volunteers to help make bespoke furniture out of recycled wood.
Award winning Reseiclo use reclaimed wood taken from old wooden pallets, scaffolding planks etc to make bespoke furniture. The Director of the not-for-profit company, Lyndon Rich, 52, said they collect wood mainly from construction sites; they bring it to the warehouse, where it’s sorted, and then sell the decent wood to the public at cheap prices. They make all sorts of things from birdhouses to dining room tables, for Lyndon says, “Anything people want, we can make.”
Reseiclo recruit volunteers from community payback schemes, giving them placements so they can gain enough experience to get back into work, and possibly learn a new trade. When asked about working in Reseiclo, volunteer Daumantas Sideikis, 20, said, “I couldn’t be happier! It’s about the experience here, rather than the work. You have such a laugh. The customers are great, the managers are great and they look after us. They also work with special needs adults, which I find brilliant.”
Reseiclo run a day service for people with learning disabilities called Reseiclo Training. Their aim is to support individuals with learning difficulties through helping them gain experience by being part of a day-to-day working environment. All the volunteers at Reseiclo have helped make all the furniture they sell.
But it’s not just about making and selling furniture. Director Jeannette Rich, 44, stated that Reseiclo has also visited schools, such as Oakfield Primary, Cwmbran. They teach the students how to use different tools to make birdhouses and flatpack chairs for the school grounds.
Reseiclo‘s next development will be to open a Saturday workshop for women who want to learn basic DIY skills.