Safe, confident and wearing the necessary protective clothing, Ahmed Khemiri stands at the sanding machine. He routinely turns the triangle of the future wooden tree until each side is sanded smooth. Advent is just around the corner - and that means that the main work in the wood workshop at the Wilhelmstraße day centre in Hamm is already done. Because Christmas is the whole year for Ahmed Khemiri. "If I wasn't into Christmas, I'd be in the wrong place here in the wood workshop," says the 48-year-old with a laugh.
Work on various wooden products such as Christmas trees, Advent calendars, moulds for tea lights and Advent wreaths begins as early as February in the multi-purpose room of Bethel.regional's day care services in Hamm. The finished products, made with love by Ahmed Khemiri and the other participants, are sold at the city's Christmas market. Sometimes in the shape of a classic triangle, sometimes with an extravagant tip. Ahmed Khemiri is able to fulfil even the most unusual customer requests thanks to the generous workshop equipment with milling machine, screw clamps, sanding machine, brushes, paint and glue.