When craftsmanship gives hope

A workshop for wooden wheelchairs in Lviv

A wooden wheelchair - built by the people who need it themselves. What sounds unusual at first becomes a reality for six veterans in Ukraine.
The man behind this project is Frenchman Paul de Livron, who wanted to use his own experience to open up new perspectives for people with serious injuries. A few months ago, he visited the Unbroken Center in Lviv - a large rehabilitation centre for people with serious injuries. It is the place where this great project began.

A small workshop with a big impact

Step by step, the original idea develops into a concrete project. After several months of preparation, Paul finally began to realise his project.

At the Unbroken Center, the rehabilitation centre provided a small room in the basement of a building - around 25 square metres in size, but enough to set up a functioning workshop. Paul brings the necessary equipment from France and sets up the room so that the participants can work there safely and comfortably. The first small programme soon begins: six participants meet regularly to work together on their own wheelchairs. Over a period of almost five weeks, the group comes to the workshop five days a week for around three hours at a time.

Step by step, customised wheelchairs are created from wooden panels and individual components. But the aim of the project is more than just a finished aid. The work in the workshop is also intended to give the participants structure in their everyday lives, new motivation and a clear goal.

Precise work with Festool tools

The required equipment was provided by Festool and brought to Lviv by Paul himself. Various power tools are used in the workshop, including a C 18 Cordless drill, an HKC 55 Cordless circular saw and an ETS 125 Eccentric sander. They help to precisely process the individual components and assemble the wheelchairs step by step. Many of the components were made from 12 mm thick plywood panels. Once the parts have been cut out, they are carefully positioned and fixed in place with Festool clamps before being permanently assembled. A clean working environment also plays an important role: the tools are connected to a CT 15 Mobile dust extractor, while a SYS-AIR M Air purifier filters fine dust particles from the air.

This equipment was particularly helpful for Paul because the tools are easy to handle and enable precise work - an important factor for people who work under special physical conditions and restrictions.

The path to your own wheelchair

Each wheelchair is customised and is therefore unique and handmade. First, Paul uses CAD software to develop a plan for each participant that is precisely tailored to body measurements such as pelvic width, centre of gravity and backrest height. The plans are printed out on a scale of 1:1. The participants then cut out the individual components from the paper plan and attached them with double-sided adhesive tape to 12 mm thick plywood panels, which are manufactured in a Ukrainian factory. The wooden parts can then be cut out on this basis using a scroll saw. This machine works particularly slowly and in a controlled manner - and this proves to be a great advantage when cutting tight radii cleanly and precisely. Working with the scroll saw requires a great deal of concentration and helped the participants to fully focus on their task and take a break from difficult and stressful thoughts for a while. Once all the parts have been produced, they are assembled and then sanded in several passes. The ETS 125 Eccentric sander was then used to give the wooden surfaces their final shape and a clean finish.

The first finished wheelchairs were a special moment for the participants - the pride in their own work was clear to see.

A moment to remember

Paul particularly remembers the story of a participant called Ivan, who is about his age. Ivan used to work as a miner in eastern Ukraine.

In 2023, he suffered a serious injury to his spine during an attack. Since then, he has been confined to a wheelchair and came to the Unbroken Centre in Lviv, more than a thousand kilometres from his home, for rehabilitation. The workshop quickly became an important part of his everyday life. In addition to the workshop sessions, Ivan also trains with the "Lviv Titans" wheelchair basketball team. When Ivan completed his wheelchair after five weeks, he immediately reached for his phone and began to photograph the result from all angles. He then sent the pictures to friends and family.

This moment was particularly moving for Paul: "At that moment, I realised how proud he was of what he had created."

A project that lives on

The fledgling project quickly developed into a great success.

The workshop at the Unbroken Centre in Lviv will remain open so that the initiative can continue. The equipment provided will also continue to be used on site. A participant named Andriy, who has already completed his wheelchair, is to take over the supervision of the workshop in future and support new participants. In the long term, former participants could also pass on their knowledge and thus support other people.

What began as a small experiment in a room in the basement has developed into a project with a big impact. The workshop shows that manual labour can be more than just a technical process: it can restore self-confidence, teach new skills - and help people to believe in themselves again.

The next goal: the Paris Marathon 2026

The collaboration ultimately gave rise to another idea. Paul himself took part in the Paris Marathon 2025 in one of his wooden wheelchairs and was surprised at how much interest there was in taking part. He is now planning to take part in the Paris Marathon in April 2026 together with the first six participants from his workshop. Over the weeks, they have become a close-knit team.

Everyone will decide for themselves which wheelchair they will start with - their self-built wooden wheelchair or a classic model. The aim is to complete the 42 kilometres together and support each other. Paul himself will complete the marathon in his latest wooden wheelchair model. With this initiative, the group wants to raise awareness for people who have to reorganise their everyday lives after serious injuries.