A singing collaboration in the Northern Territory has shown how music can unify communities.
The Barkly Voices Project, sponsored by Indigenous Business Australia (IBA)’s subsidiary IBA Retail Asset Management (IRAM), saw 160 schoolchildren, Traditional Owners and community members from the Barkly Region contribute their voices.
The resulting four and a half-minute video clip of ‘Keep My Culture Strong’ was released today.
The Barkly Voices Project arranged and remixed a song composed and recorded by Barkly musician Brian Morton and Australian musician and songwriter Neil Murray.
“We wanted to show the Barkly Region in a positive light,” says Julianne Croft, a musician and artistic director who coordinated the project via her role at Barkly Regional Arts.
The idea for the online singing collaboration came from IRAM CEO John Kop during COVID-19 lockdowns after seeing the diverse virtual choirs popping up around the world. He arranged sponsorship from IRAM, a subsidiary of IBA, which manages the Tennant Creek supermarket.
Barkly Voices participants were invited to use their smart phones to simultaneously listen to Brian Morton’s backing track and record audio-visual files, which were posted on an interactive website for editing. This was balanced by participants recorded either on site or at the Winanjjikari Music Centre studio at Barkly Regional Arts.
Four schools took part in the collaboration including Tennant Creek Primary School, the Munkarta Homelands, Murray Downs (Imangarra) Primary School and Elliott Public School (with singer Ray Dimakarri Dixon). Other organisations contributing their voices included Catholic Care, Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre and Papulu Apparr-Kari Language Centre.
“The kids were great,” says Julianne Croft. “It was a really positive experience for them.”
Sean Armistead, Executive Director of Government & Public Relations at IBA, notes that contributing to local Indigenous communities for positive economic outcomes is core to IBA’s purpose.
“Projects like the Barkly Voices shine a positive light on Australia’s Indigenous culture – and something we should all be proud to promote.
“The theme of Reconciliation Week 2021 is ‘More than a word, reconciliation takes action’ and this video shows what action can look like.”
Barkly Regional Arts also receives sponsorship from the Northern Territory and Australian Governments.
Media contact: Tara Toohill 0427 011 938 or tara.toohill@iba.gov.au
Sitting by the firelight,
The moon is shining bright.
Listening to all the people
Telling the Dream Time story.
I’m thinking very deeply,
About that dreaming.
How it is the backbone to this land.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
Culture is the main thing.
It’s our identity and meaning.
It’s the way to survive.
We can’t forget our ancestors.
We gotta keep it all alive,
And pass it on to our children.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
And carry on.
[Bridge] (spoken in different First Nations’ languages and Chinese, Indonesian and French languages of Barkly singers: “Keep our culture strong, keep our children strong, keep our country strong”)
Well, I’m standing in my country.
I feel the power in the ground.
It’s what the old people said.
When my time is done and I no longer walk this earth,
My spirit will return to the place I love.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
And carry on.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
Keep my culture strong.
And carry on.
When COVID-19 hit, it stopped Scott and Debra’s South Australian transport company, Karma Trucking, in its tracks. Business came to a standstill, but the bills didn’t.
Debra and Scott have been in the transport industry for over 30 years and this has come with its fair share of challenges. When COVID-19 brought on strict boarder restrictions, their industry was heavily affected.
Debra explained how the ripple effect of COVID-19 left their business in doubt, “Businesses were closing down so they weren’t ordering stock and ships stopped coming in. There was nothing for us to transport.”
“We went from transporting five days a week to a couple of days a week and before we knew it things shut down completely. We were out of work for about eight weeks. Meanwhile we had bills coming in.”
“Although we weren’t working, we still had to be paying insurance for both the business and the prime mover, as well as the vehicle registration. We had to keep paying the bills so that we were ready at the drop of a hat for when jobs did start coming in. We didn’t know how we were going to keep our business from going under.”
Debra and Scott were battling a tough time as business owners. The long-time IBA homes customers thought they’d reach out to IBA to see what support they could get for the business.
“We were actually applying for a small personal loan when our relationships manager at IBA told us about the COVID-19 Business Relief Package. The support we’ve received has just been fantastic.”
“Being able to get on top of outstanding bills and creditors with the package has meant we have been able to also finalise the last payments on our prime mover. It took a weight off our shoulders to have the vehicle as an asset now and not a liability. We’ve been able to get on top of our payments and it’s provided us with some security. We can’t thank IBA enough.”
When asked what advice she would give to other business owners who may be struggling Debra said, “What’s gotten us through hard times is staying in contact. When bills are piling up, pick up the phone and call the provider, let them know your situation and come to an agreement. Don’t give up and put your head in the sand.”
IBA is committed to helping Indigenous businesses impacted by COVID-19. Read more about our COVID-19 Business Relief Package. If you need business assistance, reach out to your IBA relationship manager or register your interest today.
We partnered with SBS to feature Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses throughout the month of April. This was the 2nd year of the partnership and we love showing the amazing work that our customers are doing.
The 2021 SBS Small Business Secrets segments included:
Check out all the segments on our YouTube channel playlist:
The 2020 playlist is also available which featured Warida Wholistic Wellness, Bindam Mie, Liandra Swim and Banubanu Beach Retreat.
On a beautiful day in Northern NSW, holiday makers are exploring the Tweed River at their leisure. Boyd’s Bay Houseboat Holidays help create this special experience for locals and tourists, with the hire of stylish houseboats accommodating up to 12 people.
Owner Greg Ebsworth is a proud Wangkumarra man from North West NSW and he and his partner Nathalie have faced challenges this year with inspiring resilience. For him, the COVID-19 pandemic has been just another storm to weather.
“Like many small businesses we’ve struggled a bit,” he says. “We were closed down for a few weeks from Easter. This had an incredible impact on our business - being shut down for so long with no income coming into the business and the uncertainty of when we would be able to be open to trade again.”
The fast-changing situation in Australia brought about a tumultuous year for business. After weeks of being unable to operate, Boyd’s Bay Houseboat Holidays opened in June and for the next two months, things were looking up. But border closures in late July brought about cancellations from customers unable to travel, causing more financial uncertainty.
IBA’s Business Relief package helped them stay afloat. “Luckily for us, IBA was there for support, offering us a business loan and grant to help ease the financial strains from the limited trade that was caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic,” Greg says.
“It really, really made the difference in us surviving these difficult times.”
Greg and Nathalie have been committed to the business since buying it in 2016, after 16 years away working and travelling the world as yacht captains.
“It gave us a chance to have a real go at making something our own and building a future for our family,” he says.
“IBA have been very supportive… in the beginning with some business mentoring and accounting help and then right through the term of our loan, with our IBA contact constantly checking in with us, helping us and guiding us when needed.”
This isn’t the first challenge beyond their control. The 2018-19 drought had a negative impact on local tourism and having their loan restructured helped them continue. Then in December 2019, one of their boats was damaged by customers causing it to sink. This had a huge effect on their income, losing three months of bookings over the summer holiday period.
These ups and downs haven’t broken Greg’s spirits and he is positive about the coming months. Now that many domestic borders have opened, Greg expects the business to bounce back and the rest of the season to be plain sailing.
Read more about Boyd's Bay Houseboats.
Resilience during COVID-19 has many faces. Transforming opportunities can be an important part of the process.
Lyn and David McPherson bought The Ark Clothing Company, more than four years ago and have six stores in Victoria, stores in Sydney and Adelaide and an online store. The company is ethically accredited from Ethical Clothing Australia and the designs are all Australian made.
When COVID-19 hit, The Ark’s retail and manufacturing was significantly impacted. Yet Lyn and David saw an opportunity to expand on another part of their business model, Thread Group Australia, established in 2020 to provide healthcare, hospitality and corporate industries with Australian made apparel for businesses. Thread Group Australia was able to utilise the expertise, skills and strategies of The Ark Clothing Company.
“We were quick to move to making fabric masks for community usage with surgical masks being prioritised for frontline healthcare workers,” says David. “This ability was wholly reliant upon the transferrable skills of our amazing Ark staff, from design to pattern-making to production. We tested a number of different styles and feel we have perfected a comfortable, three-layered, WHO compliant design.”
This was met with encouraging success, leading to an opportunity to fulfil orders for the Victorian state government along with a number of other local manufacturers. Thread Group Australia also produced PPE apparel for hospitals, aged care facilities and respiratory clinics. Creative Spirit, an Indigenous packaging supplier, was enlisted to provide boxes for mask and PPE orders. The Ark Clothing Company continued to make beautiful fashion pieces that were available in store and online.
Support and guidance from IBA as part of the Business Relief Package enabled The Ark Clothing Company and Thread Group Australia to continue to manufacture fashion pieces, community masks and PPE for Australians when they needed it most during COVID-19. David and Lyn are grateful to IBA for reaching out and for the provision of skilled assistance and encouragement to navigate the challenges of the pandemic.
Eventually, it will be back to business as usual for The Ark Clothing Company but until then they are living by the motto, “Survive to Thrive”.
Find out more about The Ark or Thread Group.
IBA’s Performance Bond Trust has assisted contractors across the country to participate in a wide variety of contracts including mining, civil works, construction, facility upgrades and renewable energy construction by guaranteeing their capacity to complete projects while requiring minimal security.
One of those contractors was Hicks Civil & Mining Pty Ltd - a 100% owned Aboriginal business providing civil construction services and equipment hire throughout the Pilbara region in WA. Through the IBA Performance Bond Trust, they were able to successfully tender to the Koodaideri iron ore mine and have delivered earthwork and drainage works for the project to date.
Hicks Civil and Mining Director, Caitlin Hicks Forshaw says, “We are now focusing on finishing off this project strong and leaving a reputation that will be put down in the history books for Aboriginal Contractors and be the example of showing that Aboriginal Contractors have the capacity to deliver such projects.”
“While we have both our onsite and offsite management teams – it’s the people and organisations that surround us that have also assisted in this project. IBA have been a massive contribution to our business and I have to thank them immensely.”
Through their hard work and success, Hicks Civil & Mining have been able to give back to their community supporting initiatives such as funding school pick-ups and sponsoring local events.
Since inception in 2018 the IBA Performance Bond Trust has now supported over 170 bonds worth $12 million, supporting contracts valued at nearly $202 million. Bonds totaling $167,600 have been returned due to successful completion of projects, many of which have been in regional and remote locations.
Find out more about our Performance Bonds.
“Aboriginal people have been dealing with technologies for thousands of years. These newer technologies that we’re linking into shows that we’re bridging that gap and that Aboriginal people have always been in that technology space. It’s been crucial to their survival.”
That’s what Arrernte man Peter Renehan, CEO at the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT), said in this beautiful video that shows the ground station build in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).
This multimillion-dollar facility is the first Aboriginal-owned commercial satellite ground station in Australia – tracking earth from space via a unique partnership with global satellite communications company Viasat Inc.
Built, project-managed and owned by Indigenous companies – CfAT and its subsidiaries Ekistica Ltd and CfAT Satellite Enterprises, as well as Ingerreke Commercial who laid the concrete foundations in December 2019.
Peter goes on to say, “We can develop programs that can help and assist land management and ranger programs, carbon farming, monitoring of fires and all sorts of things; so it’s pretty significant and important...If you think of the breadth right across Australia, whether it’s our land or our seas, to be able to provide that access to that information and data from Alice Springs is a feather in our cap. I think Central Australia and Alice Springs should be really proud of this sort of development.”
This video captures the technology in action. IBA worked with local Indigenous videographers Since1788 Productions to create the time lapse of the project which ends with the night sky.
Helen Martin is an Arrente woman with a passion for Aboriginal tourism and what she and her husband Trevor have created on Bremer Island is not to be missed! With permissions from the local Yolngu community, Helen and Trevor run a beautiful eco-retreat on a pristine island off the coast of Arnhem Land.
It takes hard work and resilience to run your own business but the rewards can pay off. Watch this weekend's episode of SBS Small Business Secrets on SBS World News, Sunday 7am or 5pm AEST, as they explore the stunning Banubanu Beach Retreat.
Read the article, 'The Indigenous-owned resort offering visitors a taste of Aboriginal Australia' or watch the segment below.
#ideasinvested #strongwomenstrongbusiness #aboriginaltourism
Liandra Gaykamangu is a Yolngu woman who balances a business, Liandra Swim, with a growing family and believes that empowering women empower women further. We couldn't agree more!
Her SBS Small Business Secrets segment is breaking records with views of over 500,000. She's a talent who opened the Pacific Runway as her first ever show and the only Australian designer. Her latest swimsuits are made from recycled ocean plastic and packaged in biodegradable plant material.
Liandra is also on the representative group for Futures Forum where our young people are creating a map for culture to influence business in the future. She hopes to show other young Indigenous mothers that anything is possible.
Read the SBS article, 'The Indigenous fashion designer making swimwear from recycled plastic', or check out the full segment on video.
#strongwomenstrongbusiness #futuresforum #ideasinvested
The ingenuity of Indigenous business owners is something to be celebrated all year round. In partnership with SBS, IBA is proud to showcase a series of segments with strong Indigenous businesses.
On Sunday 19 January, Robert Dann talks about how he expanded his Kimberley Cultural Adventures Broome business to new ventures with Bindam Mie where he transforms boab nuts into tea, oils and powder.
Watch on SBS World News this Sunday 19 January (7-7.30am and 5-5.30pm AEST) and again on Saturday 25 January at 2-2.30pm AEST.
Read the article or watch the video here.
