They've long been considered an Australian man's temple but the humble backyard shed is experiencing a super-sized renaissance, and they're bringing blokes back from the brink.
The premise is simple: community spaces where men can do handywork, fitted out with wood and metal workshops, assorted tools and gardening areas.
But it's "health by stealth" according to Hunter Valley convenor Marty Leist, rescuing retired and unemployed men from lonely and sometimes dark existences and encouraging them to work -- and talk -- alongside others.
"It's like we've tapped into a new male, you've got your SNAGs -- your sensitive new age guys -- these are 'shedders'," Leist tells AFP at the thriving Maitland Men's Shed in a sleepy Hunter Valley town 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Sydney.
"These are guys that have been tough, the strong person all their life, and now they've found an environment where they can let it all out, and be themselves."
There are now 600 registered Men's Sheds across Australia -- explosive growth from a dozen or so five years ago -- and their patron is Tim Mathieson, partner of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the nation's "First Bloke."
The Maitland centre is a hive of activity, with saws and welders humming and a small group puzzling over a giant Maori canoe, the dream project of a local man who died before he had a chance to finish it.
Men's Sheds operate under the motto "Shoulder to Shoulder" and Maitland president John Hill says the practical element is critical in getting the sometimes gruff and hardened locals to open up.
"Guys come in with no self-esteem at all and build themselves up purely because (they realise) 'Hey I'm needed again in life, I'm not just sitting around waiting to die," Hill says.
Across the valley at Cessnock's shed regular seminars are held on issues including prostate cancer, heart health, diabetes and depression.
They're touchy issues that men can be unwilling to talk about, even with their wives, but the familiar environment gives them the space to open up about their symptoms and for others to ask questions.
"They don't know what they're talking about half the time, it just comes out, they don't realise they're talking about themselves," says Cessnock shedder Col Chapman.


据法新社9月29日报道，梅特兰，一直被视为是澳大利亚男性的圣殿，而如今它不起眼的后院工棚正在进行一次超大规模的复兴，开始重获生机。

前提很简单：这里需要一个大型的社区空间，可以让人从事手工作业，要有木材和金属车间，能提供各类工具，还要设有园艺区。
但这其实是一次"健康秘密行动"，猎人谷的召集者马蒂•莱斯特如是说，是为了将那些退休和失业的男子从孤独的情绪和阴郁的生活方式中解救出来，鼓励他们与身旁其他人一起工作和交谈。

"就好像我们发掘了一类新人，他们有自己的特质--敏感的新时代男人--这些人就是'棚友'"，在悉尼北部一百英里宁静的猎人谷中，繁荣的梅特兰男性工棚里，莱斯特这样告诉法新社的记者。

"这些人都曾是硬汉，一辈子都活得很坚强，而现在他们找到了一个可以宣泄一切情绪，只做自己的地方。"

现在澳大利亚各地总共有600名"男人工棚"的注册会员--较5年前的10来个人爆炸式地增长--他们的赞助人是蒂姆•马西森，（澳大利亚总理）茱莉亚•吉拉德的男友，澳大利亚的"第一先生"。

梅特兰中心一派繁忙的景象，充斥着电锯和焊接的嗡嗡声，一个小组正在苦思冥想如何建造一艘巨大的毛利独木舟，这是一个当地人在生前未能完成的梦想。

"男人工棚"是在"肩并肩团结一致"的口号下运作的，梅特兰的总裁约翰•希尔说，如何使这些有时显得有些粗鲁固执的当地人开诚布公，实际的要素是非常关键的。

"一些失去了自尊的朋友来到这儿，又完全地重新获得了自我，因为（他们意识到）'嘿，我又一次被人需要了，我并不是只能坐在那儿等死'。"希尔说。
定期的研讨会正在山谷里的赛斯诺克棚举行，讨论的话题包括前列腺癌、心脏健康、糖尿病和抑郁症的问题。

这些都是男人们甚至不愿与自己妻子谈论的敏感话题，但是熟悉的环境给了他们畅所欲言的空间，他们谈论自己的症状，向他人咨询一些问题。

"大半时间他们并不知道自己在谈论什么，只是滔滔不绝，他们没意识到其实他们正在谈论他们自己，"赛斯诺克棚的工友考尔•查布曼这样说到。

• temple [´tempəl] n.庙宇；寺院；太阳穴 (初中英语单词)
• humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)
• hunter [´hʌntə] n.猎人；猎狗；猎马 (初中英语单词)
• valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
• lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt] v.设计；投掷 n.计划 (初中英语单词)
• operate [´ɔpəreit] v.(使)运转；操作；经营 (初中英语单词)
• purely [´pjuəli] ad.仅仅；简单地 (初中英语单词)
• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
• cancer [´kænsə] n.癌；毒瘤 (初中英语单词)
• community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体；社区；公众 (高中英语单词)
• alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
• sensitive [´sensitiv] a.敏感的；感光的 (高中英语单词)
• sleepy [´sli:pi] a.困的，想睡的 (高中英语单词)
• environment [in´vaiərənmənt] n.郊区；周围；条件 (高中英语单词)
• patron [´peitrən] n.庇护人，保护人；赞助人 (高中英语单词)
• critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
• renaissance [rə´neisəns] n.复兴；复活；新生 (英语四级单词)
• premise [´premis] n.前提 v.引导 (英语四级单词)
• unemployed [,ʌnim´plɔid] a.闲着的，失业的 (英语四级单词)
• explosive [ik´spləusiv] a.易爆炸的 n.炸药 (英语四级单词)
• unwilling [ʌn´wiliŋ] a.不愿意的；不情愿的 (英语四级单词)
• retired [ri´taiəd] a.退休的；通职的 (英语六级单词)