Indigenous empowerment consists of three elements: education, employment and economic development. To advance meaningful outcomes for First Nations communities, it’s important to help them achieve financial independence and economic prosperity by expanding market opportunities.
An organisation that does great work in this space is Laynhapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation (aka Laynha), which started as a homeland movement over 30 years ago, driven by the first land rights decision and the desire for Yolngu to return to their country. Creating holistic communities in remote East Arnhem Land means Laynha is everything to everyone in the homelands.
What makes Laynha unique is that it doesn’t deliver singular services; it effectively runs council operations, like primary health, education, employment, civil service (property maintenance, construction, power/water/septic/rubbish), stores, protecting the land, sea and air through Rangers and financial literacy.
At the 5th National Indigenous Empowerment Summit, Laynha CEO Glenda Abraham will be speaking about diversifying income streams through enterprise models to achieve financial independence. Third Sector sat down with her ahead of the event to give us a glimpse into her session.
How can Indigenous people reduce dependence on external and government funding to achieve financial independence?
There are three elements:
Save money. The first step in managing financial independence is to assess your bottom line, regardless of organisation or sector. The easiest place to start is “in-house”, where you have control over the expenses. I’ve gone through a process of looking at where we can incorporate process improvements to reduce costs without compromising service or culture. Generally, the heaviest part of the balance sheet is the people, so ensuring you have the right people, doing the right things with the right tools and processes.
It’s making sure that you’ve considered your organisation’s strategy. Then work through your structure, and then finalise that, and then you can start saving money. So, the first step is to look internally and look at ways to save money.
Make money. What incremental changes can you make to current service offerings that would provide commercial interest? So, some simple steps for us: We have been taking on board the work that the Rangers do, looking through grants and finding out if there are tourism elements inside that, testing that with external appetite and working with business partners and stakeholders. Take what you currently do and dial it up a level based on commerciality. Over time, those little incremental steps will become the success of the future.
Protect money. At Laynha, we’ve gone on a path of a financial stress test. This way, with an external party, we are working through a model to understand how much money we need to have as an operational bucket and how much we can have as an investment. And if we are going through an investment, what are those investment models? Those are building out a risk appetite that suits the board, introducing an order and risk committee and an investment profile that will be financially sustainable for the future.
There should be a healthy balance between economic development and cultural preservation. How can we develop culturally aligned enterprises that promote Indigenous knowledge and, at the same time, boost employment and economic opportunities?
Laynha’s got two levels of success in this space. The bush products are an example of leveraging grant funding through the Rangers division to take “social and cultural” activities and knowledge and turn them into a commercially viable product for consumer consumption.
The collection of the natural resource (flora) is done in the homeland in a culturally aligned, sustainable method and season. This creates employment for homeland residents.
The products are transported to our resource hub in Yirrkala, where they are processed into soaps, balms and essential oils. This step is also conducted by our Miyalk Rangers.
Additional products are produced, silk scarves, T-shirts with homeland printing from naturally sourced products and even jewellery is made in the homeland and onsite through workshops.
We have expanded the sale of these products online and now, with the recent purchase of the Gove Airport Café, we will stock our bush products for 65,000 people who transit through the airport annually to see and buy.
We are also now opening the Miyalk Rangers to more retail skills, which is the second phase of the bush products.
In addition, with increased demand for the products, we are reviewing the way we collect (harvest) and pay for productivity to meet demand.
The model will wean itself from grant funding to commercial outcomes.
Another aspect of Indigenous empowerment is giving back to the community. How can we generate revenue to reinvest in community development and programs?
The first thing that needs to happen is a mindset reset. I have this talk called “a commercial mind with a member heart”.
This describes placing importance on financial outcomes as revenue for re-investment in the homelands (the commercial mind) but without compromise of homeland culture and service (member heart).
This is a symbolic talk, where I touch my heart and head to help retain the connection between the words, soul and the meaning. It reminds us of what we’re doing.
Our funding partners need to be considered within the “commercial mindset” and perception of a seed partner. They’re providing us with the short term (because policy often prevents long-term investment), and if we want to deliver with impact, treat the “grant” as the seed and grow the tree. And by growing the tree, we start to empower homelands communities, and this tree enables more “reinvestment” as when seeds fall from a mature tree, new trees will sprout. When it rains, it rolls down the branches and trunk to feed the roots, and the roots get stronger, so the tree grows bigger. These trees, growing in the right direction, are the “member heart”.
Grants should not be the long-term economic staple for Laynha; they should be the economic enabler to make change.
And with a looming mining closure, Royalties should not be the long-term economic staple for Laynha. Royalties should be the capital investment for future success, an investment model.
Is there anything you would want to add or highlight?
I’ve only been in this role for about 7 months, but I’ve worked across several organisations in various sectors. Although cultures and languages are slightly different, people are still facing the same issues, so it doesn’t matter where they are in Australia. Indigenous communities in remote areas are facing similar issues, so the models that I’m talking about are something that people can take away and implement no matter where they are. The strategies are generic, and you can take and implement them, whether you’re an Indigenous organisation located in WA, NT or SA.
Also, we are everything to everyone, but we can’t do it alone. There is strength in community, and Yolngu know how to work with families. We’re connecting with the right people to make us a stronger organisation.
Don’t miss Glenda Abraham’s session and the opportunity to gain practical insights into achieving First Nations financial independence. Register for the Indigenous Empowerment Summit now to learn how your organisation can break down barriers and create opportunities for sustainable pathways to self-determination.
Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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