They come from all walks and do a fair amount of talking too, but at the core of it is giving up their time to help others.
This week the Wānaka Community Workshop completed a giant chair, 3m by 3m, which will sit proudly on the Lake Hāwea waterfront outside The Camp — Lake Hawea Holiday Park.
The chair will be used for photos, a feature and a community art project.
Ian Maxwell, a retired economist originally from Taranaki, moved to Wānaka after retiring from the Auckland City Council.
He said the community workshop group was exactly what he needed to give him that little bit of purpose after a successful career "pen pushing".
"When you retire it is good to learn something new, and I was completely useless with my hands. Give me a spreadsheet and presentations and all the rest of it, but to actually make something, I had never done it.
"I am still fairly useless but have made some things."
It was Mr Maxwell who floated the idea of the giant chair after he saw a similar one overseas.
The materials were funded by the Wānaka Art Society and The Camp in Hāwea and the labour was free.
Allan Harvey, a former chief engineer, moved to Wānaka four years ago and is retired in one of the local rest-homes.
He said it got him out of bed in the morning.
"I was building before I joined the navy; my father was a wood worker, so I picked up a bit back then.
"It brings back nostalgia — this is my place, it is why I am here seven days a week. This keeps me going and it has pulled me out of bed."
He said he worked on the community projects for "love and not money".
"I asked for a pay rise and they doubled it to nought nought."
The chair itself took 70 hours between all of the workers at the community workshop, and was transported to Hāwea on a tiny trailer that might or might not have been fit for purpose, Mr Harvey said.
"It started off because we thought it was a nice art project and we thought about active sculpture. Something kids can climb on."
All are welcome to show up on a Tuesday or Thursday from 9am to noon to be part of the workshop.
"You just need a positive attitude," Mr Maxwell said.
