Over 300 pairs of curtains from pop-up at All Saints Hall given out to families in need

Hundreds of curtains were handed out to families in need. Photo / File.

Dozens of families have slightly warmer houses this winter after picking up curtains from Community Resilience Whanganui (CReW) and The Eco School's curtain bank.

More than 300 pairs of curtains were handed out to 76 families in need over the past month.

The curtain bank opened on 6 occasions at All Saints Hall, with one of its busiest days on Tuesday when around 30 families visited the pop-up.

Nelson Lebo, who helped organise the initiative, says it was a big effort from those behind the scenes.

"It's a huge amount of work to pull the whole thing off with zero budget, we just rely on volunteers and it's quite a few hours from them.

"We've never had a budget, we've never had any funding, what we look for is natural partnerships.

Nelson Lebo helped put the curtain bank together. Photo / File.

"Partnerships with venues, partnerships with people who want to get rid of their curtains, partnerships with volunteers who want to really feel like they're doing something for the community."

Lebo said interns who study permaculture at Whanganui's Eco School also helped out.

The method is based on ethics and looks at synergies whether it's between agriculture and the environment or within a community.

"The three ethics are care for the earth, care for people and share excess resources.

"We believe in experimental learning so it was an incredible learning experience for them, which they might take back to communities anywhere in the world.

"It's about paying it forward so that's one example."

Lebo said the number of curtains given out this year was similar to previous years.

"I would say we've given out easily over 1000 pairs of curtains since we started in 2016.

"Hopefully those are deserving families and the curtains are keeping everyone a little bit warmer."

When asked if the curtain bank will return for its fifth year in 2020, Lebo said that was more than likely.

"As long as we can get a venue and volunteers, that's really the only two resources we need."