Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP) works in partnership with remote Aboriginal communities to create opportunities for people to achieve

their aspirations for economic participation. ELP facilitates the design and implementation of community based microenterprise projects. Each project creates an experiential learning environmentparticipants are able to develop a range of relevant and transferable skills and immediately apply them as they operate the enterprise. Through enterprise projects, ELP enables individuals living in remote communities to: Access relevant, community-based training opportunities and work experience
Supporting learning and development through microenterprise project facilitation

Create their own employment opportunities Work together and use their skills and abilities to contribute to their community Develop the skills, experience and confidence to transition into employment or to start their own enterprises Contribute to local economic development ELP demonstrates how enterprise can be used to create a range of employment opportunities in remote communities. ELP educates individuals, communities and local organisations in how to use enterprise to create opportunities and demonstrates how this can be done successfully. ELPs recent projects have included the following:

HEALTHY TAKE-AWAY The healthy take-away enterprise enables community members to be actively involved in creating a healthy community. In Blackstone Community, participants were involved in setting up and running a healthy take-away venture while learning cooking, hospitality and business skills.

OP SHOP Participants were involved in setting up and running an op shop providing low cost second hand goods. The op shop enterprise project creates opportunities for participants to develop skills in managing and displaying stock, handling money and providing customer service.

SOAP MAKING Women in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands were supported to start up a soap making enterprise. The women used local resources such as bush medicine and wildflowers to create a unique range of soaps. The project enabled the women to develop skills in soap making and small business management.

The following case study illustrates how enterprise projects can deliver long-term benefits to remote Aboriginal communities: Enterprise Learning Projects supported the facilitation of a Healthy Take-Away Enterprise Project in Irrunytju (Wingellina) and Papulankutja (Blackstone) communities in the remote Ngaanyatjarra Lands in Western Australia. The project was delivered over 18 weeks between October 2009 and September 2010, with participants learning hospitality skills and business skills on-the-job in an enterprise context. The participants began by selling the meals they made to the local community each evening. This provided an opportunity for community members to support the training and to affirm the efforts of the participants. Soon, the participants were requested to provide a catering service for Shire discos, Police Blue Light Discos, and community sporting events. As word of the enterprise travelled, the participants were approached to cater for a number of large events. These included catering for the Blackstone Arts Festival, a Ngaanyatjarra Media function, a Healthy Relationships Camp ran by Ngaanyatjarra Health for 50 people over three days, and a mining meeting organised by Metals X with over 200 attendees over three days. As a result of the project, Papulankutja Community is in the process of establishing an ongoing take-away enterprise to continue provide healthy take-away options to the community, representing job creation and clear pathways for participants to use their skills. Irrunytju Community is now able to provide a catering service for meetings, festivals and special occasions. The project continues to benefit the wider community as participants go on to share their newly acquired knowledge and skills with their friends and families. In the words of one participant I learn new recipes here and then I go and cook it at home for my family.

Enterprise projects represent ground-level explorations of what is feasible community members are actively involved in exploring how enterprise can be used to address community needs. Whether its facilitating a healthy take-away enterprise to respond to poor nutrition, or an op shop enterprise that seeks to provide people with affordable clothes, enterprise projects equip people with the tools to address issues in their community in a creative and sustainable way. Learning is central to all projects; participants acquire the skills they need to operate effectively within the enterprise as the project moves through the different stages, from set-up and operation of the enterprise to the final evaluation of the project. Once the project has concluded, ELP works with local agencies to support participants to continue using the skills they have acquired throughout the project. Through microenterprise projects, ELP supports individuals to develop the skills, confidence and abilities they require to achieve greater levels of economic participation. For more information on ELP, please contact: Laura Egan Enterprise Learning Projects p: 0406 351 508 e: laura@elp.org.au w: www.elp.org.au