Aria Joughin: Empowering Hands-On Skills & Community Resilience with Make With
Take a break, we’re on Smoko. This week, we’re honoured to sit down with Aria Joughin, founder of Make With—a queer-owned learning center equipping women, queer, trans, and BIPOC folks with essential hands-on skills for home repair, emergency preparedness, and collective resilience.
Born out of reflection during climate instability and economic upheaval, Make With isn’t just a workshop—it’s a movement. Aria shares how teaching tangible, everyday skills empowers people with confidence, self-sufficiency, and a sense of ownership over their lives and communities.
“Skills aren’t just tools; they’re empowerment. When you know how to do something yourself, you own a little piece of your independence.” – Aria Joughin
We explore the mission behind Make With: creating an inclusive, accessible space where learning is practical, communal, and deeply rooted in care. Aria speaks candidly about the challenges marginalized communities face in accessing this type of education and how Make With’s classes, workshops, and service provider directory are helping bridge that gap.
From discussions on vulnerability in leadership to building mutual support networks through skill-sharing, this episode is an invitation to rethink what community resilience really means. If you care about empowerment, sustainability, or inclusive education—this one’s for you.