Although country towns can be close-knit communities, lack of transport, activities or family and friends can sometimes lead to older and younger people feeling isolated with less social opportunities than their metropolitan peers.

The Yarn Barn – Tinker & Talk project, delivered by Careship Coorong, invites senior mentors in the town of Coonalpyn and surrounds to join young people to learn new skills, enhance their community and make new friends.

The Yarn Barn provides opportunities for community members of all ages to be leaders for positive engagement and inclusion in their communities.

Through the creative process of tinkering, older community members lend a listening ear or have a chat to share their wisdom and skills across the generations.

The aim is to increase community resilience, build support networks and create a more welcoming community. It also helps to address the issue of a higher incidence of mental health concerns, particularly among younger generations, in rural areas.

The Yarn Barn – Tinker and Talk project provides light-hearted and accessible sessions to bring people of all ages together to work on small community-enhancing projects that are important to them.

Some planned activities include ‘cooking on a budget’, creating a giant board game and building park benches for the community to enjoy.

Careship Coorong is supported by a Positive Ageing Fellowship Grant from Office for Ageing Well, SA Health to deliver the Yarn Barn Tinker and Talk project.

Click here to find out more about Office for Ageing Well’s Community Grants.