Last month we were in Yarralin to start governance training with the owners of the Yarralin Community Store. Like most communities in the NT, the store is owned by the local Aboriginal Corporation which is this case is Walangeri Ngumpinku Aboriginal Corporation (Walangeri) and the directors are representatives of the corporation who make decision on behalf of the community.
The key message we’ve been saying over and over again to our Store Owner Corporations is that AIG is not there to run the store, we are there to support community to run and manage their own stores. To empower the Directors AIG provides governance training as part of AIG’s store model “This involves education about the directors’ responsibilities under the CATSI act and training around how stores function from an operational and financial point of view” explained Alexa Gutenberger the Chief Operating Officer at AIG.
Director involvement in store decisions
Last month was the first meeting to provide governance training with the directors and they were obviously excited about the opportunity of further learning. “It was clear the directors want to make informed decisions and be included in the process of running the business better. They want cheaper prices, quality food and local employment” said AIG CEO Steve Smith.
Alexa explained that director involvement in the store’s product variety and prices charged is an important part of the AIG management model. “We start every board meeting in the store and conduct a ‘walk through’. This gives directors the opportunity to point out what they like about the store and what they don’t like. We look at prices and products. They must be actively involved in their business, not passive bystanders”.
The directors at Walangeri are a mix of old and young, men and women which is ideal, because they closer they are to the customer base, the greater the chance their ideas will resonate with the whole community. We need to have the community input because they know better than anyone else when stock isn’t right or when prices are too high.
There is no place for price gouging
Yarralin community is perfect example of how the community store has the power to protect or threaten food security. “The whole the community shops in the store as they are far away from Katherine and can’t shop anywhere else. There is no place for price gouging here or fostering a business model of commercial gain. Our role as managers is to protect the community’s access to good food at a price they can afford” said Steve.
Local employment as a target
Local employment has been an ongoing challenge at the store. AIG has developed a plan with the Board of Directors about how to tackle this going forward and defined new strategies to change the relationship with the community by encouraging people to view the store as a place for local employment and training. “There has been ongoing discussion with the directors about encouraging community to work in the store. Basic literacy and numeracy is an issue and we are all looking at ways to train people so they can be employed” said Steve.
