International Day of Rural Women

My eyes are hanging out of my head, we have one super tired baby, our house is a bomb site with dishes that need to be done, washing everywhere and housework tasks so far behind that I can’t even bear to think about it, but I have to tell you about the great day I had yesterday in celebration of International Day of Rural Women! October 15 has been designated by the UN as the International Day of Rural Women to recognize “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

The inaugaral ‘Resourcing Women of the North – International Day of Rural Women’ Conference hosted by the local Northern Gulf Resource Management Group was held here in Mareeba yesterday and I got to go along.  I will be honest and admit I was not really sure what I was going to get out of the day (and after doing the mad rush around all morning that comes with getting kids, husband, pets all organised, dinner and lunches made etc, all the things required for a day and night of mum away from the house), I was asking myself if it was really worth the effort to go!  Added to that I was a little nervous as I wasn’t sure I would know anybody when I got there and I was hoping I wouldn’t get thrown out for bringing a baby with me!

However I can now say, I am so, so, so glad I went!  The event was held at de Brueys Boutique Winery which I think is one of Mareeba’s best kept secrets!  It was a beautiful venue!  You can check out their website here for the cellar door opening hours and a history of the place.

Julia Telford did a great job as the facilitator of the day, she was so warm and engaging, and had us all relaxed from the get go, which really set the tone for the whole event’s proceedings!  The Keynote Speaker for the day was Karen Brook who spoke to us about ‘the secret to bringing your ideas to life’.  She was very generous with imparting her own personal business story and super inspiring with the things she has managed to achieve, not the least of which is that she can fly a plane!

Morning tea at the event was also noteworthy!  You really know you are at a conference in Tropical North Queensland when you see trays of Zingo Frozen Mango Fruit Treats everywhere and there were cupcakes too – what more could a girl want?  YUM!

I think the highlight of the day for me though, had to be the panel session.  In this session we got to hear the stories and tips to success from four local, rural business owners. I was amazed by the calibre of talent, passion and drive we have right here in our own backyard!!

It is incredibly motivating to see women who are just about neighbours to me, achieving great things in their businesses.  They highlighted the variety of different roles that rural women carry out; from bookkeeping, to doing the physical farm work, supporting their farming partners, through to advertising campaign managers!  It was also obvious that living in a rural community does not mean that amazing success is not able to be achieved – there are no excuses!!  Please go and check out their stories – you can’t help but be inspired by the clever and hard working women we have around us up here!

Fiona George – Broken Nose Vanilla

Debbie Nucifora – Zingo 100% Pure Mango

Michelle Bell-Turner – Mungalli Creek Dairy

Franziska Inderbitzin – Swiss Farms

After lunch we had the choice of a few different workshop sessions – our options ranged from Web Marketing, Finding Funds and Grant Writing, Regenerative Agriculture, Beef Sense and Pasture and an Innovative Agricultural Farm Tour – that gives you an idea of the diverse range of people that attended the day!  I had fun chatting to all sorts of ladies making great contributions to our rural community and working in many different fields!  Everyone was friendly and easy to talk to!  Big shout out to Kath form Kath’s Kreations, Cass from Harvest Mareeba, Carolyn from Mareeba Lodge and Georgie from RegenAG – it was so nice chatting with you all and thanks for helping with my noisy baby throughout the day!!

Things finished up at 3pm enabling me to run in and pick the kids up from school and do the swimming training/scouts/bath/ dinner stuff before heading back in for the evening function.  Kipp decided to ‘fill his nappy’ while I was holding him and of course as I was all ‘frocked up’ ready for a night out – the nappy leaked onto my top and I then had to scrounge madly through the cupboard for something else to wear – gah! Murphy’s Law!!!

Rural Women’s Buffet Dinner served in the de Brueys Boutique Wine Cellar

The guest speaker for the ‘Resourcing Women of the North Rural Women’s Dinner’ that night was Anna Daniels and she was absolutely fantastic – I would say one of the most entertaining and inspiring speakers I have ever heard!  Anna is best known for presenting on Network Ten’s TV Show ‘The Project’ and you can view some of her work here on Vimeo. She hails from Rockhampton and is passionate about showcasing regional and rural Australia to a national audience.  I think we were really lucky to have her come and speak to us in Mareeba and I hope you managed to check out our ‘claim to fame’ drive thru bakery before you left Anna!!

Guest Speaker Anna Daniels – sorry about the dodgy photo but it is very difficult taking photos on your iPhone with a jiggly baby in your arms!

I was brave and worked up the courage to have a little chat with Anna and ask for a photo – Kipp was very pleased!

A photo with the lovely Julia Telford – the extremely hard working event facilitator!  This was the end of the night and Kipp was ready to go home!

It was a great event, one that I am already looking forward to attending next year, so a huge thank you to the organisers for all of the hard work you put in to make it happen.  I have come away with much food for thought and inspiration in relation to how I might be able to be a ‘Resourceful Woman of the North’ – somehow using my accounting background and love for social media – hmm ideas anyone???.  It is my hope that one day, I will be one of the speakers at an event such as this, that I will be contributing something amazing to our local rural women’s community!  Best start with putting the washing on, cleaning up the messy kitchen, finding some school clothes for the kids for tomorrow …………………………… it’s all part of it!!

Happy International Day of Rural Women Everybody!

A photo of me with my little helper being a ‘resourceful woman of the north’ getting the Blue Sky Produce payroll done!