On Country Trips
Reconnecting With the Voice of the Land
Reconnecting to a livelihood supported and sustained on the land, connecting and caring for country through language.
We take our children on cultural trips to country each Friday. The children are able to connect to the land, learn when certain bush foods, medicines and plants are in season and how to gather and hunt. We are in the process of constructing a permanent shelter and classroom on Pertame homelands for on-country learning, as well as a bush tucker garden so children can partake in the regeneration of traditional food sources that have been impacted by colonisation.
“On-country trips have been the highlight for everyone, including the Elders and staff. Going back out on country reconnects everyone to land and language, and to cultural practices. Pertame is best heard and spoken on country. I love teaching my grandkids how to dig for tyapa (witchetty grubs) or showing them medicines or other plants to eat. I love being able to talk in Pertame on the Lhere Pirnta (Finke River) just as my grandparents did when they were younger and Pertame was their only language. The reconnection to country is the link to reconnecting with language.” - Samantha, Nest Coordinator
On Country Learning Hub
Learning Hub Design
Thanks to 1002 supporters, the Pertame School raised just over $100,000 for the construction of a classroom on a Pertame outstation. The construction process is underway, and will be supplemented with architectural support from the Fulcrum Foundation in 2024.
Our on Country classroom hub will include camping facilities, to provide a permanent home for our language on the land that the language came from. The hub would provide an immersive experience, enabling children to look out onto Country and see and experience the words that are being spoken. The project would also foster the rehabilitation of land and reverse the impact the cattle trade has had on our Country. We have plans to train our young people to regenerate the traditional bush foods and medicines, bringing them back into the lives of our children and managing invasive species
We have been working with the architectural practice, The Fulcrum Agency (TFA), to develop a concept plan and costing for the development of the Learning Hub on Country.
The building systems are largely ‘off-the-shelf’ components including shipping containers, roof frames and other elements easily procured, delivered and assembled on site by community members, and where needed, skilled trades. The design allows for a staged approach to construction that will better align with available funding. The Hub will be a light touch on this special Country and will provide safe and comfortable accommodation for people of all ages, most importantly, our Elders
