23 Aug Enterprise Immersion
Enterprise Report: August 2020
Urapunga is a remote Aboriginal community located 600 kilometres south-west of Darwin near the southern edge of Arnhem land, Northern Territory. Home to 108 people, Urapunga is nestled between the two big river crossings – the Wilton and the Roper.
Community Elders and the Urapunga Aboriginal Corporation Board requested support in the community for Enterprise Development and Training from Circulanation. The community has a long-standing relationship with Circulanation CEO Tanya Egerton. They first met in 2016, where community Elder Margaret Duncan worked with Tanya on a range of enterprise projects in the Katherine Region.
Initial scoping of community members aspirations for enterprise was conducted in 2018. This revealed a strong interest from women in the community for enterprise development in health and beauty products related to bush medicine, creative arts and design, tourism, fashion, and photography. Plus, the development of digital skills for young people within the community to support marketing and sales.
Circulanation also supported the establishment of a community op-shop, which provides a low-risk opportunity for people to learn business skills, generates independent seed funds for small projects, plus access to affordable clothing and household items.
In 2020, Circulanation has been supported by the National Indigenous Australian’s Agency to deliver the Ignite program, an inclusive and culturally responsive entrepreneurship program in partnership with the Urapunga community.
The Ignite program commenced in August and is already sparking new ideas and interest in business from emerging entrepreneurs within the community.
August 2020
Over the past four weeks, Circulanation CEO Tanya Egerton has been based in Urapunga, working intensively alongside women and girls. Currently, we are in the immersion phase, where the focus is on engagement, experimentation, and building a safe and supportive space for everyone to explore and learn together.
Based under a mango tree and a marquee we have been experimenting with new techniques, incorporating local materials and cultural knowledge, to create potential new products.
This gained a lot of interest from senior women in Urapunga and over time many young women and girls have also joined the daily sessions. We are currently working towards a market-stall in October at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Art and Cultural Centre (GYRACC) where we will be selling products and gathering real-time feedback from customers.
Pop-up Op-shop
Weekly pop-up op-shops are taking place in the neighbouring community of Ngukurr. Young women are leading the op-shop and are being supported to build their interpersonal skills, increase their knowledge in managing money, using digital payment systems, plus build confidence and agency.
Youth Engagement
Tanya conducted a Youth Enterprise workshop in partnership with the Urapunga school. The two-hour session provided students with an opportunity to develop a product, to determine their start-up costs, materials and equipment required, and define their target customer.
During the session, Tanya showed product samples of what the women have been working on. This supports Circulanation’s whole of community approach to developing an understanding of entrepreneurship and encourages young people to think about how they can generate value in the community.
Employment Opportunities
Annamarie Collins has expressed a strong interest in working with Circulanation to learn more about business and facilitation. Tanya is currently exploring opportunities for Annamarie to be employed by Circulanation under the 1,000 Jobs Package for Youth.
Stakeholder Engagement
Circulanation CEO, Tanya Egerton meet with stakeholders in the Katherine and Roper Gulf Region, including Kalano Community Association, Jawoyn Association, Northern Territory Government, National Indigenous Australians Agency, Katherine Regional Arts, Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Art and Cultural Centre, Many Rivers Microfinance, Katherine Town Council and Roper Gulf Regional Council.
The conversation was focused around the delivery of the Ignite Program, the establishment of a central Enterprise Hub and Makers Space in Katherine, and a Markers Market event which is due to take place in October at GYRACC.
Next Steps
Continue to product development in preparation for the Makers Market in October, with a focus on determining startup costs, understanding price structures, experimenting with packaging and marketing.
The long term vision is to have a space for women and men to work on the development of their business, in the form of an Arts and Enterprise Hub. We are seeking support to establish the hub which would be utilised as a makerspace and for the delivery of training workshops that support the development of sustainable business opportunities for the community.