Welcome to the Indigenous Services Team second quarterly e-newsletter, thankyou to all those who responded to our first e-newsletter back in December the response was very positive. The purpose of this e-newsletter is to update and promote projects that we are currently involved in or have recently completed. Please feel free to forward this email onto others or if you do not wish to receive this in the future please let us know by replying to this email.

NRM Resource Manual- Consultation on Working Draft

With funding and support from the Joint Commonwealth/State Steering Committee and DWLBC, The Indigenous Services Team has developed a draft Resource Manual for NRM Officers Engaging South Australian Aboriginal Communities in NRM. The draft document has been reviewed by a number of bodies including (but not limited to) the Aboriginal Statewide Advisory Committee, NRM and Regional Liaison Officers, Aboriginal Lands Trust and Alinytjara Wilurara Board Executive, and selected Aboriginal community representatives. The draft manual highlights strategies to develop engagement processes, legislation that impacts communities, cultural considerations, opportunities and access to cultural awareness training, key contacts and appropriate protocols and principles for engagement. A final resource manual is expected to be available in July 2007. For more information contact Rachel Pfitzner via email or phone on 0428 117 370.

Flinders Island Aboriginal Association Incorporated (FIAAI)

Rural Solutions SA was contracted by FIAAI to undertake feasibility studies and prepare business plans for two identified enterprise opportunities and to identify other potential enterprise development opportunities. The identified enterprises included the establishment of a market garden and the assessment of an already existing contract labour hire enterprise which operated a lawn mowing and garden maintenance business. A number of potential new enterprises were also identified including the making of mulch and compost for commercial and garden supplies and the construction of concrete pavers for domestic residents on the island. As a result of the feasibility studies a business plan was prepared for the organisation to develop the enterprises into the future. Support for this was provided by Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). For more information contact Peter Marin via email or phone on 0427 015 079.

Connecting Aboriginal Communities to NRM Activities

Rural Solutions SA with funding from the Natural Heritage Trust and assistance of Alinytjara Wilurara NRM Board has redeveloped the new Aboriginal NRM website. The website, online now at www.aboriginalnrm.com.au is connecting Aboriginal communities to NRM activities by focusing on Aboriginal participation in the NRM field within South Australia. This groundbreaking online resource is currently in development phase and is due to be complete in early to mid 2007. The new website currently offers a NRM contacts database tool that can assist with communication between Aboriginal people, Government agencies, NRM Boards and NRM staff. The website also currently encompasses an online skills register of Aboriginal people; thereby acting as an Aboriginal NRM employment link. For more information contact David New via email or phone on 0439 811 283.

Planning for the Future

Members of the team have completed a property management plan with the Ikkata Family Association Inc. Members of Ikkata worked with Rural Solutions SA on their 90 ha property west of Port Lincoln, to undertake a series of planning workshops to enable them to create a plan for the future development of their property. The planning involved natural resource and human resource assessments, exploring land use and enterprise options, and getting set up for sound financial management of the property and its future business. Members of Ikkata gained new knowledge of how to set up and operate a meat livestock enterprise and how to assess other potential enterprises using gross margins. The plan will be used as a basis for accessing further investment into their farm and its enterprises. This activity was made possible through the support of Farmbis and Indigenous Land Corporation. For more information contact Bart Dessart via email or phone on 0428 102 920.

For information on any of the services provided by the Indigenous Services Team please feel free to contact any of the above mentioned people.