I have now been in Mossman for three days. Vit and I arrived Thursday afternoon. I was a bit nervous hopping out the car. I’m about to start working on a project and I have no idea what is it yet, what if I can’t do it? What if people don’t like me? What can I really do in a mere two weeks? As soon as I met Angie and Megan I relaxed. They were coming down in the car on their way to take a client to the bank in town. They rolled down the window. Vit told them with a glint in his eye “you better watch this one, she’s a crazy woolly headed feral”. I smile and faintly deny his claims but they assure me that if I wasn’t crazy I wouldn’t fit in at all. Phew!
The Aboriginal community of Mossman gorge is in the middle of rainforest. The Bama people are forest people and have learnt to understand and respect the rainforest and their people traditionally survived completely off what it offered, which, I am slowly learning, is so much more than I ever could have imagined. The FIM office is a beautiful office and is run by all indigenous people. It is, like Coen, an extremely successful centre. The vast majority of the aprox 200 people of the community are signed up to FIM. Mosman gorge attracts many tourists and there is a well established tourist and arts centre at the foot of the gorge. Sharon and Stuart who are on secondments here are working on proposals, processes and job descriptions for the new cultural centre that will be built at the foot of the community. The plan is that all tourists will park here then will get buses from here past the community and up to the gorge. The idea behind this is it will create more awareness about the community, increase trade for the tourist and arts centre and create jobs for many of the Mossman gorge people.
I am working with FIM and they want me to help design games that will assist people in finance management and create promotional material for FIM that specifically concentrates on the Mossman, Hope Vale and Wijal Wijal areas. I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the projects and hope I can at least make a tiny stich in the overall FIM agenda.
The first day I got acquainted with my work mates, Megan, Angie, Rebecca and Julie. Angie and I ate lunch together in the rainforest then she showed me around the arts and tourist centre and introduced me to all the workers there. She then took me down to see Shawn play the didgeridoo for the tourists and then Shawn took me on a little tour around the base of the forest. He is a leader for a dance troupe and is recording his first album on Monday where he will be playing the didge over recording running water sounds, bird noises and other natural sounds that come from the forest to concentrate on mediation and holistic healing. The Cooktown crew, Megan and mark and Kate and Eric from cairns came to see us this weekend. We went on a guided walk with Shawn as our guide through the rainforest on Saturday. He showed us where to find a natural soap, natural “deep heat”, let us smell and try and touch the variety of fruits and nuts that are found in the forest. He told us of a bark that you could crush down and put in the water that would take out the oxygen and stun the fish so they could catch them. They only ever took what they needed. He showed as the husk of trees where boomerangs were made from, how they made fishing spears and temporary huts – the Bama people were nomadic people. He warned us off a stinging plant and how to heal the intensely painful wound. We sat in the roots of a massive strangle fig tree and shared dream time stories with us, his peoples beliefs and the connection with nature and animals. He told us how is Bama name means eagle, he was giving this name, his son given the name meaning evening star. He told us and showed us so much more… but that’s all I can remember for now.
We all swam in the gorge and played in the natural slippery slide and let the rapids pulls us down stream. Today we went out on the lower isles of the barrier reef. I talked to a beautiful big patterned turtle tiled with deep brown, red and orange crooked pieces were lay perfectly on his skin and shell. After he knew I was friendly he agreed to come out from under his rock and let me swim with him. He swam slowly so I could keep up and we moseyed around together for awhile until he swam to close to an island where I couldn’t go. I said goodbye and thanked him with all my heart. I saw what seemed like hundreds of coral and fish so many vibrant intricate colours and designs, Mother Nature indeed has the most create hand. A massive clam sat strong, breathing in, breathing out, deep purple flesh and sprinkled with sparking green and gold.
Work tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to it but tonight I’m thinking of Aurukun. I left something there or maybe something from there came with me…either way I feel a connection with that place that is not going to leave.
The Aboriginal community of Mossman gorge is in the middle of rainforest. The Bama people are forest people and have learnt to understand and respect the rainforest and their people traditionally survived completely off what it offered, which, I am slowly learning, is so much more than I ever could have imagined. The FIM office is a beautiful office and is run by all indigenous people. It is, like Coen, an extremely successful centre. The vast majority of the aprox 200 people of the community are signed up to FIM. Mosman gorge attracts many tourists and there is a well established tourist and arts centre at the foot of the gorge. Sharon and Stuart who are on secondments here are working on proposals, processes and job descriptions for the new cultural centre that will be built at the foot of the community. The plan is that all tourists will park here then will get buses from here past the community and up to the gorge. The idea behind this is it will create more awareness about the community, increase trade for the tourist and arts centre and create jobs for many of the Mossman gorge people.
I am working with FIM and they want me to help design games that will assist people in finance management and create promotional material for FIM that specifically concentrates on the Mossman, Hope Vale and Wijal Wijal areas. I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the projects and hope I can at least make a tiny stich in the overall FIM agenda.
The first day I got acquainted with my work mates, Megan, Angie, Rebecca and Julie. Angie and I ate lunch together in the rainforest then she showed me around the arts and tourist centre and introduced me to all the workers there. She then took me down to see Shawn play the didgeridoo for the tourists and then Shawn took me on a little tour around the base of the forest. He is a leader for a dance troupe and is recording his first album on Monday where he will be playing the didge over recording running water sounds, bird noises and other natural sounds that come from the forest to concentrate on mediation and holistic healing. The Cooktown crew, Megan and mark and Kate and Eric from cairns came to see us this weekend. We went on a guided walk with Shawn as our guide through the rainforest on Saturday. He showed us where to find a natural soap, natural “deep heat”, let us smell and try and touch the variety of fruits and nuts that are found in the forest. He told us of a bark that you could crush down and put in the water that would take out the oxygen and stun the fish so they could catch them. They only ever took what they needed. He showed as the husk of trees where boomerangs were made from, how they made fishing spears and temporary huts – the Bama people were nomadic people. He warned us off a stinging plant and how to heal the intensely painful wound. We sat in the roots of a massive strangle fig tree and shared dream time stories with us, his peoples beliefs and the connection with nature and animals. He told us how is Bama name means eagle, he was giving this name, his son given the name meaning evening star. He told us and showed us so much more… but that’s all I can remember for now.
We all swam in the gorge and played in the natural slippery slide and let the rapids pulls us down stream. Today we went out on the lower isles of the barrier reef. I talked to a beautiful big patterned turtle tiled with deep brown, red and orange crooked pieces were lay perfectly on his skin and shell. After he knew I was friendly he agreed to come out from under his rock and let me swim with him. He swam slowly so I could keep up and we moseyed around together for awhile until he swam to close to an island where I couldn’t go. I said goodbye and thanked him with all my heart. I saw what seemed like hundreds of coral and fish so many vibrant intricate colours and designs, Mother Nature indeed has the most create hand. A massive clam sat strong, breathing in, breathing out, deep purple flesh and sprinkled with sparking green and gold.
Work tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to it but tonight I’m thinking of Aurukun. I left something there or maybe something from there came with me…either way I feel a connection with that place that is not going to leave.
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