Welcome to FRRR’s Tackling Tough Times Together podcast – about how people in remote, rural and regional Australia helped one another pull through the harshest droughts in living memory.
In this episode, we hear how the untapped potential of women in New South Wales Central West inspired a project helping them rejoin the workforce and find an extra income to get their families through a crippling drought.
We chat to community leaders about the challenges they faced, how they responded, what impact their project had and the legacy it left. They share their stories and lessons learnt, as we all learn how to cope with an increasingly dry climate.
Many women in the Central West moved to the region from the city to marry farmers and start new lives, including Diana Fear, CEO of Central West Farming Systems.
Diana could see that despite their individual achievements, many women had lost confidence. When drought brought challenges to her community, she set about putting together a program of mentoring, confidence building and networking events, bringing together a diverse gathering of women with different skills and life experiences, to the benefit of the whole community.
This project was funded by FRRR – the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal– thanks to partnerships with philanthropy, government and business, and the generosity of individuals, all of whom share the vision of a vibrant, resilient, sustainable and empowered rural Australia.
FRRR acknowledges the Dja Dja Wurrung people as the Traditional Custodians of Jaara country at Bendigo, where the organisation is headquartered. We also acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations around this vast country, and pay respect to their Elders past and present, and to the continuation of the custodial, cultural and educational practices of Australia’s First Peoples.
GET IN TOUCH
The Tackling Tough Times Together podcast was produced for FRRR, the only charity focussed on building the social and economic strength of remote, rural and regional Australia. It was funded in partnership with the Australian government.
For further information on anything shared in this podcast, or if you have a project and would like to apply for funding, or you would like to support these kinds of projects, head to www.frrr.org.au or call 1800 170 020.
CREDITS
Host: Nance Haxton
Production Assistance: Michael Adams
Interviewee: Diana Fear, CEO of Central West Farming Systems
RESOURCES
FRRR – www.frrr.org.au
Central West Farming Systems – https://cwfs.org.au/