Andreas Samuelsson | Kenosis - Woodworking and sanding people

The story of Andreas Samuelsson and the Kenosis community is one of generosity, sacrifice and resilience. He arrived in Romania with a desire to help, and from then until now, he has dedicated years to uplifting people and bringing change to disadvantaged communities. He has transformed a simple workshop into a place of creation and hope, where people find their worth through hard work and creativity.

Coming to Romania to help the homeless

Andreas Samuelsson is Swedish and came to Romania when he was in his early 20s to help disadvantaged communities to work and develop. I met Andreas at the event organized by Tehnicas for the company's 25th anniversary. In a corner of the hall, next to a stand with shredders and another with metal, wood and leather jewelry, a young blond man with a beard, glasses and tightly cropped hair was showing the children gathered around him how to work small objects in wood or leather. Although we had never met before, I recognized him. I had read about him and was impressed by his willingness to help and the joy with which he did it. I wanted to find out more about how he came to Romania, about his work in disadvantaged communities and how he started working with wood, so I approached him. 

Andreas speaks very good Romanian, but that's not surprising because he's been in Romania for 19 years, married to a Romanian woman and has two children. He first came just after high school with the idea of staying for a week and stayed for 3 months. He then worked with the homeless in Arad together with another Swede who came to Romania through a charitable foundation. He felt that he had found his role among these people and that his involvement here could bring change, so he wanted to come back to continue the work he had started. And he came back not even a year later. He settled in Yiriya and started working with the Roma community in the area, with very poor people who had nothing, who lived in dilapidated shacks with dirt on the ground. He started by helping them with the things they needed, but he realized that wasn't going to bring change. So he thought he would give them something, if they offered something, on the principle that if you work, you get something. For example, he'd give someone a chicken, and if they took care of it, they'd get another chicken. If not, he got nothing. That's what motivated many of them to get involved, to do more, both for themselves and for others in the community. Andreas is totally committed to working with disadvantaged people. He says it brings him joy and you can see it in his twinkling eyes. You feel him as a fulfilled man who has found his place.

A man is like wood, if you polish it well it can become a valuable piece

Now he has a business, Kenosis Designdeveloped with the people who gathered around him. A workshop where he produces objects in wood, leather, metal. From drums, to tables, cabinets, various pieces of wooden furniture for homes, restaurants, cafes. He continues to work with people from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially the Roma community.

It all started more than 7 years ago when I was on a trip with the children from Yria. In a pile of wood that was about to go on the fire he saw a plank that he thought was very beautiful. He asked the forester for it and when he got it home, he sanded it, finished it, put metal legs on it and it became the table he still has in his house. That's how he got the idea to start a nonprofit organization where he would work on various objects. He says the goal wasn't the furniture but the people, lifting them just as he lifted wood for the fire, making it a table. Both wood and people have stories, uniqueness and need polishing.

Shortly after the wood he met his future wife and moved to Timișoara. He opened his workshop in Giarmata, where a Roma community lives. They first worked in a container that had no electricity. With the help of a church aid association, which invested €100,000, they were able to buy machinery and start production. Orders came in fairly quickly so they made a profit which they reinvested. They use defective wood taken from local gates, which they combine with epoxy resin to solve problems and sometimes with metal and leather. The team is made up mostly of Roma people who passionately work on special pieces of furniture. Such furniture can now be seen in top restaurants and cafes in Bucharest and Timisoara or in the homes of people with status. Scraps of wood from tables and furniture are transformed by women's hands into small pieces of jewelry.

A business rising from the ashes

A year ago one night in September 2022, the workshop burned to the ground. There were grinders, pans and furniture ready for delivery inside, in addition to machinery and materials. Almost everything burned. But this whole community gathered around Kenosis jumped to help. Among those who came to help was Cristoff Krattiger from Tehnicas. That's when he realized that he wasn't building a factory but a community, that it's not about walls but about relationships, about dreams and values.

Although immediately after putting out the fire he thought he'd probably put everything on hiatus for a year, not a week later he was working with his crew in the roofless warehouse. They were sanding, wiping and repairing looking up continually wishing it wouldn't rain. They have literally risen from the ashes and are now once again working custom jewelry, shredders and furniture for anyone eager to own a Kenosis-branded item.

Kenosis - to come down for lift others up

Kenosis is a biblical term that means to give up privilege and stoop down to help and uplift others. Kenosis is where Andreas creates beauty by giving meaning to life, helping people and the community. He teaches them to thrive through work, to be generous to others and to pass on the desire to help others. With hardworking people passionate about their crafts the Kenosis family has grown. 

Kenosis is not just a business but a community where people support each other and share their dreams. The fire that destroyed the workshop did not break their spirit; on the contrary, it brought them together and made them come back stronger and more determined. Through their work, they demonstrate that each individual can be a valuable piece in building a better future for us all. In this way, Kenosis becomes more than just a production workshop. It is a manifestation of the principle - to put yourself down in order to lift others up. Andreas and his team are living examples of this philosophy, and through their actions remind us that true wealth lies in the ability to give and bring joy to those around us.