SIHLALO OUTREACH

Sihlalo Outreach is the woodwork training arm of Sihlalo.  It works from a fully-equipped woodworkshop in Salt River and has two arms.  Its senior woodworkers specialise in making high quality outdoor products and garden items commissioned by well-known South African designers and garden emporiums (for instance Versailles planter boxes, obelisks, bird houses, owl boxes, stencilled herb boxes, and vegetable boxes of different sizes).

Sihlalo Outreach houses the Sihlalo woodwork trainee program, which offers young South Africans the opportunity to be part of the workshop team, and learn the basics of woodwork and furniture repair.  A six-week starter program is currently offered, where trainees learn about occupational health and safety, time management, workshop costs, working as a team, observing and assisting the senior woodworkers, being responsible for completing basic woodwork tasks (eg. sanding, measuring, finishing, cutting).  They participate in stock take and audits, maintaining and cataloguing stock and keeping equipment in good order.  Trainees are usually matriculants who come from challenging backgrounds, and are undecided as to what they want to do as a career.  They are encouraged at Sihlalo to develop skills and seek opportunities to learn that will challenge them, and give them career paths.  Many trainees attend Sihlalo part time around tertiary training.