Upcycle and San Salvador Community Skills Training Project

A place shaped by care and routine

Walking into Sally’s Workshop, based at San Salvador, you are immediately aware of a calm, purposeful environment. This is a space shaped by routine, care, and intention, where adult women with intellectual disabilities are supported to live structured and meaningful lives.

San Salvador has been a place of care for nearly 90 years. What began as a facility for children with intellectual disabilities has, over time, evolved into a residential home for adult women. While care remains central to its work, the organisation has increasingly focused on creating opportunities for learning, routine, and personal development that support long-term dignity and independence.

Sally’s Workshop: learning through making

Sally’s Workshop plays an important role within this approach. It is a working environment where practical making, repetition, and familiarity are used to build confidence and capability. Under the guidance of Naomi Schauer, the workshop focuses on recognising each individual’s strengths and shaping tasks around what is achievable, meaningful, and supportive.

Naomi’s vision is simple and deeply intentional: to enable residents to develop skills that allow them to contribute in ways suited to their individual abilities. Through the creation of educational toys and small gift items made from upcycled waste materials, each woman is given a role that reinforces purpose, routine, and a sense of belonging.

Creating roles, not outputs

For many people with intellectual disabilities, formal schooling ends without clear pathways forward. Opportunities for continued skills development or employment are limited, and days can quickly become passive. Sally’s Workshop actively challenges this reality by offering structured, skills-based engagement that values participation and consistency over output.

Upcycle’s contribution

Upcycle contributes to this process by sharing selected upcycling techniques, adaptable making processes, and materials suited to the workshop environment. The focus is on methods that can be repeated comfortably, adapted where needed, and integrated into existing routines rather than introducing complexity or pressure.

Small processes, meaningful impact

Through this shared process, waste materials are transformed into practical products, while everyday making becomes a source of learning, confidence, and connection. The work is not about scale or speed, but about creating spaces where contribution is recognised and every role matters.

Follow and read more about our work with San Salvadors here.

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