#106 Therapeutic & Cultural Economies
Petrine McCrohan on a changing paradigm in the Kimberley
Petrine McCrohan is the founder of Bridging the Landscapes – our inner and outer landscapes. This has emerged from spending the best part of the last 20 years in the Kimberley, engaged in empowering processes and skilled therapeutic interventions. She’s been doing much of this work as a group facilitator and direct mentor to Aboriginal communities and social enterprise developers. And in the process, she’s observed and assisted a transformation in how initiatives and enterprises are being designed. The focus is increasingly on healing inter-generational trauma. And the economies that this shift is successfully restoring and creating constitute a model not just for other Aboriginal communities, but for us all.
Anthony James and Petrine McCrohan with the Martuwarra Fitzroy River in the background, just outside Fitzroy Crossing (pic: Olivia Cheng).
“One of my biggest epiphanies was watching Andrew Denton all those years ago when he was doing that show, and he was interviewing Muhammad Yunus. Muhammad Yunus - the father of social business. Well I just bolt upright went, that’s it! Because it was so much like how Aboriginal people do reciprocity and trading.”
Petrine’s journey to the Kimberley stemmed from her own experiences of trauma and transformation. She left an established life in Victoria when in her 40s, pulled and guided by ‘invisible threads’ and formative encounters. And she’s come to believe and witness that healing from trauma is the window through which purposeful, healthy and prosperous lives and societies are forged. We exchange notes on a few fascinating corroborating cases and experiences too, that suggest she’s not alone.
Join us at sunset beside the spectacular Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge), a 35O million year old Devonian Reef, ancient home to the Bunuba people, cornerstone to the story of Bunuba warrior Jandamarra, drawcard on the famed Gibb River Road, and an area pivotal to Petrine’s journey. And right on topic, you’ll hear how the conversation sub-consciously rolls with the shifting light and sound around us.
This conversation was recorded at Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge) in the West Kimberley on 6 September 2021.
Click on the photos below for full view, and hover over them for descriptions where they’ve been added (all pics by Anthony James).
Music:
The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.
Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.
Flamenco Rhythm, by Sunsearcher (sourced from the Free Music Archive).