DESERT DARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY– BUSINESS PLAN SUPPORT
A look through Desert Darlin’s lens.
Founded and led by Mparntwe (Alice Springs) local and Luritja woman, Brooke Bathern, Desert Darlin Photography is an Aboriginal owned and operated, accessible and affordable photography service. Desert Darlin’s focus is on providing First Nations’ people a professional service that makes them feel comfortable to be themselves and have photos taken of themselves and their family.
Since Desert Darlin Photography began in 2023, Brooke has worked with her clients to deliver exceptional photoshoots for locals, tourists, and community in the region; you can find her professional portfolio on her website here.
Brooke reached out to Community First Development in September 2023 and invited us to provide support with developing a business plan to expand her services. Senior Community Development Officer, Alex, connected Brooke with skilled Community First Development volunteer, Emma, who has a range of expertise including in business development and submission writing. Brooke and Emma met in person in Alice Springs where they spent four days together developing content for the business plan. The placement included one full day dedicated to being out on bush and yarning about Brooke's vision for Desert Darlin Photography, followed by a few days in the office to write up the business plan. The trip on Country provided a valuable time of connection and relationship nurturing. After the in person visit, Brooke and Emma continued working together on developing the business plan via email to collate all the necessary data and finalise the plan. Because of this hard work and the cooperation between Brooke and Emma, the project was a huge success.
Tracking change
Using a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach, Alex worked closely with Brooke to monitor progress towards completing the business plan. Through yarning and working alongside Brooke and Emma, Alex captured reflections on progress towards achieving project indicators, initially recording the baseline monitoring point at zero and the final monitoring point at 100 on completion of the business plan.
Growing in leaps and bounds
Community First Development was delighted to learn that, with the completed business plan, Brooke was successful in securing an impressive $100,000 through the highly competitive Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation Grants Program! Community First Development will continue to be available to support this incredible business in its continued success.