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DKA CEO Jimmy Cocking visits Tennant Creek for Shaking the Bush Workshop
Last week, Desert Knowledge Australia CEO Jimmy Cocking travelled to Tennant Creek on Warumungu Country to attend the final sessions of the Shaking the Bush Workshop, hosted by Wilya Janta (Standing Strong) Housing Collaboration and the Healing Country Project.
The visit also provided an opportunity to see the newly landed “explain home” with its Original Power installed solar and battery system and to meet with members of the team including COO Simon Quilty who have been driving engagement with philanthropy to support its design and delivery.
Wilya Janta Aboriginal Corporation is an Aboriginal-led housing initiative that centres community agency in the design and construction of culturally appropriate, climate-responsive housing in the Barkly.
The workshop and site visit were attended by Marion Scrymgour MP, Federal Member for Lingiari; Chansey Paech MLA, Member for Gwoja; and Barkly Mayor Sid Vashist. Warumungu and Wilya Janta leaders including Norman Frank and Jimmy Frank, shared their firsthand experience of the “explain home” and the cultural design principles behind it. There was strong agreement on the need for urgent reform to create a more effective and culturally grounded remote housing system.
Wilya Janta also recently released its Right Way Housing Guidelines, which provide an important framework for rethinking how remote housing is planned, designed and delivered.