Over the past 12-months, the RISE Ventures Microenterprise Development has worked with the Kowanyama Council, local RISE team and community members to establish small businesses in Kowanyama.
One of the major hurdles to employment in remote communities is that there are not enough jobs for the residents and, in Far North Queensland, many of these jobs are seasonal contracts in the dry season.
Building small, sustainable businesses in remote communities creates employment and training opportunities that otherwise would not be available.
In the past 12-months, RISE Ventures has leased the unused Kowanyama Bakery, reopening it and running the operations with qualified Baker/Chef Joshua and local staff.
We have also opened the Arts ‘n’ Craft Retail Store, selling locally made handicrafts, secondhand clothes and essential items, and a Lawn Maintenance service, employing men from their pool of clients.
Alongside these businesses, the team is also supporting a sole trader to set up his own security business and NDIS clients to gain a cleaning contract with local services.
You can read more about the Kowanyama Bakery here, and the Retail Arts ‘N’ Craft Store here.
The Vision for a Community Co-Operative
The long-term vision was always to create a community owned and run co-operative which supports local small businesses and sole traders.
This means the businesses would be owned and operated by the community, for the benefit of the community. As well as creating employment and providing much needed services for the town, the growth of the co-op creates a self-sufficient economy.
RISE Ventures engaged with The Co-Op Federation for advice on how to establish and run a community co-op. We’re grateful that Sam Byrne travelled to Kowanyama several times to check out our businesses and support this venture.
Listening to Community
Creating a community co-op needs community understanding, buy-in and people willing to lead.
The RISE Microenterprise team started discussing the idea of a co-op at the Community Advisory Board meetings and hosted a number of community consultations forums.
These consultations were open to all and provided a simple explanation about how a co-op works and how it would benefit the community. Over 50 people attended one session and there were robust discussions about what was needed in Kowanyama and what the community wanted.
Following these consultations and a positive nod from the community, the next stage was creating a blueprint for how the co-op would be governed and how the established businesses would operate within it.
The Co-Op is Founded!
In November 2024, the RISE team hosted a meeting for community members to vote on the formation of the co-operative and a local Board to manage it.
We are thrilled to share that the co-operative formed and a Board was established!
Introducing the new local Board of Directors:
- Charmaine Lawrence – Local Councillor
- Francine Gilbert
- Adryanna Gilbo
- Dawn Grainer
Megan Logan, former General Manager of RISE Ventures, will sit on the Board as a non-executive director to support its members.
This all-female Board is also leading the way for women in their community!
The Kowanyama Co-Op is also supported by these founding members:
- Territa Dick – Kowanyama Mayor
- Kevin Bell – CEO
- Leslie (Monty) Gilbert
- Fitzroy Lawrence
- Christobelle Tent
- Cameron Josiah
Establishing A Sustainable Co-Operative
With the Board formed, RISE Ventures submitted the co-operative business registration to the Government, with the support of the Co-Op Federation.
The next steps are transferring the bakery, retail store, cleaning and lawn mowing businesses to sit within the new structure.
This will happen gradually with the full asset transfer, operations handover and training being completed over the next few months.
All profits generated will then be managed by the Board and invested back into these businesses or for community projects.
A membership model will also be created which will outline how community members will join and engage with the co-op.
The vision is for the community to feel pride and ownership of the co-op and engage not only with the businesses, but also with community wide activities and events.
Ongoing Support from RISE Ventures
Through the National Indigenous Australians Agency, RISE Ventures has funding until June 2025 to support the operations and administration of the businesses within the Co-Op.
Over the next 6 months, they will train a local person to take over this responsibility and assist the Co-Op with applying for funding to support this.
The Microenterprise team will also continue to mentor sole traders and connect them with business support such as Many Rivers. The aim is for new sole traders and small businesses to have the support of co-op membership from the beginning, setting them up to succeed from the start.
Our team are over the moon to have the Co-Op established and support the self-determination of the Kowanyama Community. These businesses will provide essential employment, boost the local economy and enrich the community with their products and services.
We hope that they are a starting point for more independence from Government funding and more community control over the economic and social development of their community.
