Tramulla Strong Women’s Group Kalumburu
The Tramulla Strong Women’s Group is a women’s group in Kalumburu, a remote Aboriginal community in WA, that worked through the Kalumburu Local Drug Action Team (LDAT) to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) harm by connecting people to culture, country and local enterprise.
The group formed in 2007 as an informal peer support group, led by senior women, with the aim of creating a healthy, vibrant Kalumburu community. Elders mentored and supported the younger women who took part in the group’s projects.
Why the Tramulla women focused on culture and enterprise
Kalumburu is a small, very remote Aboriginal community of about 550 people in far north Western Australia, and most of the population is young. Being so remote means services and communication options are limited.
Job opportunities were limited, with few options for local employment or self-employment. Meaningful work and a strong connection to culture are both protective factors against alcohol and other drug harm, and evidence shows that connection to culture can reduce risk-taking behaviour and support mental health and wellbeing.
The Tramulla Strong Women’s Group came up with the idea of creating culturally relevant activities and microenterprises to connect people to country and culture, including a community op shop, photography projects and a weaving revival project.
How the LDAT supported culture and microenterprise
Building small businesses
The group set up these projects so that small businesses could sell items such as photographs and weaving, attract tourism and strengthen community partnerships. Young women in the photography project launched the Kalumburu Photography Collective and created a calendar in 2018.
The LDAT’s second Community Action Plan (CAP) built on its first, encouraging people to take part in cultural activities and supporting microenterprise. In the second CAP, the Tramulla women took a larger role in developing and delivering activities, rather than the lead organisation, Enterprise Partnerships Western Australia (EP WA).
“The LDAT wanted to come from a sustainable approach and ensure local women would have the skills and knowledge to run community-led initiatives in the future,” said a Senior Community Development Officer with the LDAT program.
Strong local partnerships
The Tramulla women invited ELP and EP WA to support microenterprise in Kalumburu, and a formal partnership began in 2016.
The group had strong support from Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP) and EP WA. ELP is a not-for-profit organisation launched in the Northern Territory in 2010, and it supported Kalumburu from 2015. EP WA, modelled on ELP, is a not-for-profit social enterprise that supports grassroots micro business development in remote Aboriginal communities and promotes health and wellbeing. EP WA worked in Kalumburu in partnership with the Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation, East Kimberley Job Pathways and the Strong Women’s Centre.
Members of the group also visited the senior women at Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre in Fitzroy Crossing and came back with community strategies for their own work. Connect Groups, a not-for-profit that supports community groups, helped make the trip possible.
Planning together on country
In June 2018, the women held a bush camp at MarraGarra to discuss the group’s future and invite younger women to join. With EP WA facilitators Clare Wood and Susannah Wallman, they reflected on the community-led projects they had run, talked about hopes for healing initiatives, and developed a strategic plan to expand their reach.
I know when I see young people go out to country and collect plants and learn about bush medicine, when they come back to the community they are visibly more relaxed. Clare Wood, Enterprise Learning Projects
Results and next steps
Clare explained that when people feel their stress is under control, they’re less likely to turn to alcohol and other drugs.
The LDAT planned to measure the project’s success more formally, using LDAT program funding. This would include stories from women before and after taking part, measures of wellbeing and mental health, and how these related to alcohol and other drug use. The group also aimed to strengthen partnerships with local police to see whether harm had been reduced.
Clare said being part of the LDAT program was a rewarding experience.
“It was an amazing process to consult with the senior women and young women about what ideas they had that could reduce alcohol-related harm.
“In terms of focusing on microenterprise, it’s quite an innovative way of addressing some of these harms and mental health challenges. What’s great about it is that they’re local place-based solutions and the women have a real passion and drive to make their community a stronger place and they also have the solutions. This funding and the support from the LDAT program enables the women to do what they feel they need to do to make their community a safer place.”
Last reviewed: 31 October 2026