For the past three years, Vanessa Félix has been on her construction site almost every single day. The 34-year-old bought an old farm and has been gradually renovating it from top to bottom.
The project, however, goes beyond a private renovation. After her training as an industrial mechatronics technician, Vanessa came to realise, time and again, that as a woman in a crafts trade she had to work much harder than her male colleagues to earn her place.
In her field, she is outnumbered by men, and she said this is something she notices. "You'd get comments like, 'Oh sweetie, don't do that,' or 'No, we can't do it the way you'd like,' and then you have to stand your ground", she said, adding that pushing back in this way often drew criticism.
A handyman is seen one way, she said, while a woman doing the same thing is seen quite differently. All too often, she felt she was not taken seriously.
Her goal is to actively challenge these preconceptions and encourage women to take on DIY projects. That is how the idea of a craft course specifically for women took shape.
The first room to be finished on her farm was her studio, which now hosts her workshops.
The course is not only aimed at beginners, but also women with some experience who want to develop their practical skills.
With this initiative, Félix hopes to help women with less craft experience, overcome their fear of handling machines, as well as the fear of receiving sexist comments, by offering a safe space to try new things.
"I get to come into contact with these things, learn how to handle them and lose my fear of working with machines," one participant said.
Over time, Félix plans to expand what her "Creative little farm" offers to include more craft and creative workshops, as well as collaborations with other experts in different fields. Among her future plans are mechanics workshops covering basics such as "how to check my tyre pressure and how to top up the windscreen washer fluid". These are things, she says, that many women don't dare to ask about for fear of a negative reaction.
For the participants, it's not just about being among other women but also about having a woman explain things. "Sometimes women explain things differently," one participant said.
