How the Ganya works like a gift economy
” …the Ganya Shed is radical. It resists the idea that everything must be bought.”
When I first heard about the Ganya Shed, I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been helping Uncle Lex get things ready for the opening. I’ve made the poster. I’m helping with the money and organising donations. It isn’t just about helping; it is about being part of something that didn’t ask for anything in return but gives everything it can. The Ganya Shed, sitting quietly in Wentworth Falls with Yanama budyari gumada above its entrance, is more than a place; it’s a shelter where kindness is passed around like tea and stories.
Uncle Lex started the Ganya Shed so everyone, especially young mob, can learn skills like woodwork, cooking, and building in a safe, welcoming space. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people work side by side, teaching each other, helping each other. That’s the gift economy in real life. We all bring something: time, skills, energy, and we all leave with more than we came with. As Robin Wall Kimmerer* writes, “Gratitude is the thread that connects us in a deep relationship both to the gift and to the giver.” That’s exactly how it feels at the Ganya Shed. No one’s there to make a profit. People come because they care. And when we show up for each other, again and again, we grow stronger together.
Robin Wall Kimmerer believes that when we give without expecting return, when we live by gratitude and reciprocity, we weaken the grip of the market economy that only sees value in money. At Ganya, nobody’s charging anyone to learn to cook or build. It’s a place where people are seen for who they are, not for what they can buy or sell. In that way, the Ganya Shed is radical. It resists the idea that everything must be bought. It shows that generosity and connection can build a better world. Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us that “restoring the gift economy can reweave the bonds of community,” and every nail hammered, or meal shared in the shed proves her right.
Yanama budyari gumada to walk with good spirit means to act with kindness, with purpose, and with hope. The Ganya Shed teaches that every act of giving, no matter how small, is powerful. In a world where we are often told to take more, places like Ganya remind us to give more. As Robin Wall Kimmerer might put it: if we remember the world is full of gifts, and we treat each other as givers, not takers, then we are already growing something better than the market can ever sell.
*Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry
