[00:00:00] Emma: Welcome to Tea with the Queen. I am very excited today because, I'm going to be talking to Belle Tembe, who is co founder of Digital Services Lab. And for those of you who've been working with me for a while, you would know that Belle was one of our very first guests on Tea with the Queen some years ago.
[00:00:16] Emma: And she has built me the most magical website that a girl could ask for. Welcome, welcome Belle Tembe to Tea with the Queen.
[00:00:25] Bel: Thank you, Em. I'm so excited to be here four and a half plus years later. Plus.
[00:00:33] Emma: perfect. I love it. I love it. Well, as you know, we don't have any guests on at the moment. So like, this is like, whoo, so excited and I'm
[00:00:41] Bel: special.
[00:00:42] Emma: so special and I'm thrilled to have you on and we're not talking about digital services lab. So I had to give you a plug at the start, right? We are actually going to jump straight in and talk about something called the Wilderness Collective, Belle.
[00:00:54] Emma: What is the Wilderness Collective?
[00:00:56] Bel: the Wilderness Collective is very close to my heart. it's an organisation that I co-founded here with four other women in Malakuta.
[00:01:04] Bel: it is designed to rejuvenate our community
[00:01:06] Bel: through entrepreneurship, innovation,
[00:01:09] Bel: and sustainable development. basically what we do, is we support local business development.
[00:01:15] Bel: We promote job security for the people of our community. Um, and doing all of this in a collaborative effort. So, we've established a hub here at 56 Maurice Avenue, which I'm in today talking to you from, and in that hub, that's where we aim to create this inclusive environment for people to come along and, um, be creative and, um, help their businesses flourish.
[00:01:38] Bel: And, essentially, the hub serves as a bit of a nucleus for a variety of activities. So have a co work space for one, and that's where I work from full time, and we also run workshops and events. we hold networking sessions for people that are aspiring to have businesses and then people that are on different stages of their business growth.
[00:01:59] Bel: Um, and then just networking for people who want to come along and have a chat, you know. So basically,
[00:02:04] Bel: our vision extends to economic revitalisation,
[00:02:08] Bel: and then we're also committed to
[00:02:10] Bel: fostering a community that is resilient and that can
[00:02:14] Bel: navigate any future challenges that we have
[00:02:16] Bel: with confidence and cohesion.
[00:02:18] Bel: And we aim to boost the local economy and enhance social connections.
[00:02:22] Emma: I love that. And I do have a question about social connections, but I want to ask, why did you feel, why did all the co founders feel that the Wilderness Collective was necessary? I'd love to hear a little bit of the backstory about that.
[00:02:35] Bel: Yeah, great. That's a great question. So basically, , two of the co founders, Mary O'Malley and Meg, who we also, the co founders span different generations, which is kind of cool. So Meg was like 26. Mary was older. Um, and, and,
[00:02:51] Emma: Mary, if you're listening.
[00:02:53] Bel: no, well, we just don't want to talk about everybody's age, um, but basically those two came together and identified that after the black summer bushfires here in Mallacoota, there was a need for, you know, a central place where people could come and gather.
[00:03:06] Bel: It started off as a different idea, basically, that we have now extended into what the Mallacoota community is. community is today. So those two ladies passion then bought in another couple of ladies, Trisha Hiley and Paris Brooke, who you've met. and then I was the final one to come along, , they needed a fifth co founder,
[00:03:24] Bel: and I was like,
[00:03:24] Bel: I love what these guys are doing! And came along and, you know, signed on the dotted line, so to speak.
[00:03:28] Emma: How long ago was the bushfires bell? Can you remind me?
[00:03:32] Bel: Yeah, so that was over basically the New Year's Eve of 2019 2020, so, um, just as I was moving here nearly five years ago now.
[00:03:41] Emma: Yes. I, I mean, I remember very clearly you moving, moving there and the devastation of it. And, um, I love what you're doing because, connection is my thing, as you know. Um, You would also know there is this loneliness epidemic happening all over the globe. COVID hasn't helped.
[00:03:59] Emma: working from home means people are isolated, et cetera, et cetera. I'm just curious, I feel like it is, but is it the same in rural areas? And how then does the Wilderness Collective help with that? Yeah,
[00:04:11] Emma: absolutely.
[00:04:11] Bel: So, look, I think the loneliness epidemic is an issue that affects
[00:04:14] Bel: both urban and rural areas, And in rural areas like Mallacoota, we're quite geographically isolated, so that limits our access to social and welfare services that people might have in the city, so that's one kind of an issue.
[00:04:27] Bel: and then the impacts of events like Black Summer bushfires can contribute to a sense of profound loneliness for people, um, who may have, you know, lost their homes, are on their own, haven't rebuilt, there can be those kind of compounding issues. But I do see that our town, can be very united with people and groups looking out for each other. So, of course, like a town isn't one heartbeat where everyone feels or thinks the same.
[00:04:48] Bel: But I do think there is a huge amount of goodwill in the Malakuta community. Um, and I see a lot of people doing what they can to support each other. and, bringing that back to the Wilderness Collective, like we're not a social welfare organisation but we do try and tackle, or not try and tackle loneliness, but
[00:05:06] Bel: we tackle it by providing this central place
[00:05:08] Bel: for people to come and gather,
[00:05:09] Bel: both social and professionally. So, you know, we offer those diverse range, array of events. Uh, tonight we have a Friday night wind down. For example, and anyone can come to that.
[00:05:19] Bel: It doesn't matter if you're in business or you're a tenant. and we just want to create, meaningful opportunities for people to interact face to face here and foster that sense of belonging, which, you know, for me personally, I'm a tenant here and I feel like I have a community. I love to come to work, um, in my own business, but it's a, it's a lovely place to be.
[00:05:37] Emma: I love that you're, trying to have that kind of impact. And I think, yes, the issues are complex, And I also think that every single person can have an impact where they choose to have an impact. Right? So the fact that the five of you have got together and you're having this impact is just freaking amazing.
[00:05:55] Emma: I love it. I
[00:05:56] Bel: Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's like, it's worth noting that, you know, everything that we're doing, our initiatives, uh, specifically designed to build strong, supportive networks and to promote mental wellbeing and social cohesion. So I think I love that too. Like I'm all about that. Like I love, uh, networking.
[00:06:12] Bel: I love hanging out with new people and it's nice having a sense of community wherever you are.
[00:06:16] Emma: Yeah, I totally agree. as you know, Yeah. um, you're doing a lot of work with women in Mallacoota, and of course, women are very close to my heart. what are the challenges that they're facing?
[00:06:28] Bel: Yeah. I know, I know that women are close to your heart and I love that we are a female founded organization We do so much. Yes,
[00:06:37] Bel: providing support to women in Mallacoota. So it's not exclusively for women,
[00:06:42] Bel: but we see women
[00:06:43] Bel: at a much higher rate than men
[00:06:44] Bel: In terms of their engagement in our programs, don't have, you know, any of the data to kind of back up why that might be.
[00:06:51] Bel: Um, but women in Malakuta, I guess, face whole bunch of challenges, particularly in terms of accessing career opportunities, and professional networks. and business education. So if you don't have all of those three things, it's really hard to understand like what's out there for you, what your life could look like living in Mallacoota. and that's something that I've really seen here more than when I was living in King Lake in a small town, but was also quite like close to the city. Um, so I guess the remote, location and the limited diversification of like jobs means that there are fewer job prospects and career advancements for women.
[00:07:32] Bel: So, There is often a bit of payoff or
[00:07:35] Bel: a sacrifice that people make to live here,
[00:07:37] Bel: or a general acceptance that
[00:07:38] Bel: you have to take what you can get when it comes. and like an example of that is that there's a huge of our workforce here. So work here is seasonal, depending on tourism, or you have to accept making less money for six months of the year just to stay in Mallacoota, which is a pretty bleak,
[00:07:56] Bel: position to be in. Yeah,
[00:07:57] Bel: basically the devastation, the devastation caused by those Black Summer bushfires, um, compounded those issues and The support systems and community structures like kind of came to the forefront as a bit of an issue. and that's where I guess we stepped in especially for women is to implement programs that support women while also attempting to build a culture that is entrepreneurial.
[00:08:19] Bel: So that it's not about what you can see on the main street as a job. It's not about casualization of your work and having to work three different jobs during summer so that you can support yourself during winter. you know, it's about, How do we support people to see opportunities? How do we support them to have their own incomes? even if business isn't your jam, and it's definitely not everyone's, definitely my jam and your jam.
[00:08:41] Bel: Um, but you know, we are also trying to think here at the Wilderness Collective about how Career opportunities can be created for women and how maybe the Wilderness Collective could pay it, play a role in becoming an employer for women and offering services to a broader.
[00:08:57] Bel: I mean, that's just something that's in the, in the pipeline, but we're definitely thinking about that. Like, how do we create that independence for women?
[00:09:05] Emma: it feels a little bit sad to me that to be a payoff, right? And if we can help them think outside the square, outside the box, or think about innovation in some other way. I mean, we've got all the tech to do all the things now, right? And so if we can help them with that, that would be amazing.
[00:09:21] Emma: I feel like maybe you need a visit from the Queen, I'm just
[00:09:24] Bel: Oh, I would be so great. Yes. And that's a part of the thing as well. Like, bringing people like yourself who are just so amazing and have so much experience in, creating opportunities for other people and bringing people together. And then also, like, you're so good at creating excitement. around women, but that's what people need to be encouraged. They're like, Oh, this is,
[00:09:44] Bel: this isn't just something that I have to do,
[00:09:46] Bel: this is something that I'm excited to do
[00:09:48] Bel: to build up my confidence. And yeah, so Melakuta needs Emma McQueen.
[00:09:52] Emma: All right, Emma McLean's on its way. You've heard it here first. So then what's next for the Wilderness Collective? You just gave me a little hint there, but what else is happening? And what, is the hope and the vision for you five founders? Go fund,
[00:10:06] Bel: the next significant milestone for us really is to purchase the building that we're currently leasing. So. Essentially,
[00:10:14] Emma: account? Come on.
[00:10:15] Bel: there is, hey, I'm getting to that. I'll get to it. Hang on. There's, I've got a call to action at the end of this, Em. but we basically have this once in a lifetime opportunity to secure this building on the main street and to activate our central hub forever. we have until December this year to make it happen. And, um, just the legacy that this could be for this town is, it's so exciting, but it's also, like, it's a beacon for entrepreneurship and personal growth for people in our community. Like it really can, there's so many good things in our community already.
[00:10:45] Bel: And this is one where it's like, let's not depend on tourism or the seafood industry for our livelihoods. Let's make, like, an amazing, um, space where you can build business. Like we have a lot of space here, so people could literally come in here and be like, I want to do this retail thing, or I want to do this business here.
[00:11:02] Bel: And we're like, well, we have the bricks and mortar to facilitate that. And, um, we want to be able to remove basically paying a lease and constantly having to be at risk of having to move on. Because we've invested in this building, considerable volunteer hours, putting the fit out together. Like, it's beautiful in here.
[00:11:19] Bel: So I want you to come to Mallacoota M just to see this building. I
[00:11:22] Bel: think that you would really like it.
[00:11:24] Emma: I'm coming. We did talk about meeting halfway, but I think I'm going to have to come.
[00:11:27] Bel: Yeah, yeah. We'll meet, we'll meet you halfway. We'll do all the things.
[00:11:30] Bel: Um, but yeah, basically by removing that need to continuously pay that lease means that we can continue this vision for decades and pass it on to the younger generations, you know, as they come up or whoever else is passionate about what we're doing.
[00:11:44] Bel: and then we, we plan on expanding our current offerings. So. more specialized training, mentorship, and support for local entrepreneurs, and then also to have initiatives such as incubators, like micro business incubators. So it doesn't have to be big business thinking.
[00:12:01] Bel: It can be tiny business thinking where your income is reaching a much better level than what it is today. So yeah, it's really exciting. can I do my little call to action
[00:12:10] Emma: Of course you can. I mean, I want to know how much she's building of this size costs. That's what I'm curious about.
[00:12:15] Bel: Yeah, well, look, all I can say is that's confidential, but we, when I said, but when I said it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, we really feel like, um, the building that we're in with the, there's an expansive backyard. Um, we've got the spaces inside the expansive backyard. So that's where it is. There aren't other buildings like that.
[00:12:35] Bel: this is a smaller town. So the real estate is finite. yeah, it's very exciting. And basically, if anyone is listening, um, today, we need as much help as we can get. Um, so we have just started stage three of our fundraising efforts, um, for the year, and we're calling for business sponsorships and partnerships and for donors, big and small.
[00:12:54] Bel: So everything counts. Um, and what we achieve in Mallacoota is It's something that we hope to share far and wide in other small towns throughout Australia. So investing in us isn't just investing in Mallacoota, if that wasn't
[00:13:06] Bel: enough. You know, it.
[00:13:07] Bel: can have that ripple effect, and we're already talking to so many other communities, um, about what we're doing and learning from other communities who have done similar things.
[00:13:15] Bel: So it's very exciting.
[00:13:16] Emma: So do we need to put it in the show notes so that people can actually GoFundMe and find out a little bit more?
[00:13:22] Bel: Well, that would be great. We actually have it all running through
[00:13:25] Bel: the Wilderness Collective website,
[00:13:26] Bel: which is wildernesscollective. org. au. And yes, it would be great to put that in the show notes too,
[00:13:33] Emma: Well, Tea with the Queen audience, you have heard it here. If you want to support the next generation, the current generation, you have a ripple effect in small towns.
[00:13:42] Emma: Here's a chance to do it, right? Like, here is your chance to do it. Put your money where your mouth is, I say.
[00:13:47] Bel: Absolutely. And put your feet where your mouth is and come to Mallacoota.
[00:13:52] Emma: going to have to do that. I am going to have to do that. thank you so much, Bill. It's been so lovely having you on the podcast again. Uh, you're one of my favorite guests, which is why you've got another spot.
[00:14:02] Emma: Are you lucky? And, um, I just wish the Wilderness Collective All the luck because, you know, we need these services
[00:14:09] Emma: in our small towns and our rural areas
[00:14:11] Emma: to help build community
[00:14:12] Emma: and make sure people connect. And I can see that if we get the first one right, then the ripple effect is going to be massive.
[00:14:18] Emma: Well done you.
[00:14:19] Bel: Thank you so much. And I love, by the way, that you are doing a National Thriving Women Program this year as well for all the people that are in the, in the areas that are too far to travel.
[00:14:30] Emma: I know we need to, we need to, include our rural sisters, don't we? We, we really need to help them. So
[00:14:36] Bel: Absolutely. I think it's a great opportunity.
[00:14:39] Emma: Thank you, my friend. It was lovely to have you on Tea with the Queen. You heard it here first, Emma McQueen goes to Mallacoota and the Wilderness Collective needs your help.
[00:14:47] Bel: Thank you so much.
