Derry man selling handmade stool to help with Ukrainian War

The stool is being sold for £150 and all funds will go towards the Ukrainian people.

Colin explained how he first got into woodwork: “About five or six years ago, I got chickens. I didn’t have a lot of money so I decided to build a chicken coop from old pallets and things instead of buying one. I wasn’t very keen on going to the builders merchant to buy timber because I didn’t know where it came from, I didn’t know what it was treated with and it was really expensive too. So, I bought a chainsaw and I started milling my own logs from trees I got around Derry.

“Part of this stool is made from a tree that was fell in Brooke park. I’m not sure what specific fungus it had but Elagh Tree Surgery had to fell it and they kept the tree in big logs, rather than cutting it up for plywood and I’ve used some of it to make egg cups and furniture and things.

“One of the cool things about woodworking is that there is very little waste from it. I use mostly draw knives and hand knives and I end up with lots of shavings and chippings and peelings. I grow gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. The traditional mushrooms, like button mushrooms, grow in a compost based substrate but mines are wood based like Lions Mane Mushrooms and Oyster Mushrooms so, I use most of the waste from woodworking to grow mushrooms and a handful to start the fire. The two things work really well together.”

Colin received some backlash online from people saying he should not be funding the army. He says, in an ideal world, there would be no war at all but he has to be realistic about the current situation.

He said: “I’m not into war or people fighting. Like lots of other people, I don’t want this to happen. It shouldn’t be happening. I believe the political dialogue for peace should always be present and all effort made to avoid conflict. But the situation is that the Russian military are invading, bombing and killing Ukrainian people right now.

“I have Ukrainian friends who are posting on social media requesting support for their military so that they can defend their people and country. When the president of Ukraine was offered a lift out of Ukraine facilitated by the US he refused and said, ‘the fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.’

“Humanitarian efforts help those displaced by warfare but do little to prevent the death of innocent people, which is happening as we speak. Russia is bombing innocent civilians and Ukrainians are trying to protect and defend themselves so I feel they should have my support.”

To buy the stool or to see more of Colin’s work, visit Managh Beg Farm and Apiary on Facebook.