An Australia where everyone lives a rich, productive and happy life.
“We all paint different places’ stories… Adrian painting some country, Jane, he painting some tjulpu (birds), Conway draws anything - people, faces. Charles draws Hermannsburg, Lance draws horses - maybe from Docker River. I’m painting all them cars. Kukula paints all Cockatoos - he like Cockatoos…”
Providing all people with equal recognition, equal treatment and equal opportunity
“I enjoy the work I do at Bindi. I like all the different types of jobs there are to do and I enjoy learning new skills.”
Own It - How we get the job done
Respect Lives Here - How we treat other people
Keep Calm & Be Happy - How we interact with other people
Make It Matter - How we make a difference to other people
“I like catching up with my friends at Bindi, and I like working and earning money”
Adrian has been painting with us at Bindi since 2002 and throughout that time his dedication to his practice has not wavered. He continues to push and pull the limits of his imagination and abilities with passion and determination. He was born in Papunya in 1962 to a family of artists amongst the early Western Desert painting movement. Adrian’s paintings consistently refer to the desert mountains, ridges and trees which are part of Yalpirakinu, his mothers country.
Isaac is a new addition to the Bindi Contracts room, having joined us after graduating from Acacia Hill School in 2017. His jubilant energy lifts the atmosphere wherever he goes and enthuses the workplace. Known for having some of the best hi-fives, dance moves and smiles in Alice Springs, Isaac takes every opportunity to engage with our community. Delivering mail to the Town Camps provides Isaac a perfect opportunity for meeting and greeting people.
Since 2011 Jane Mervin has graced the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists studio with her joyful nature, and hundreds of renditions of her favorite animal, the tjulpu (bird); each with its own story and character. Hailing from Amata, SA, Jane moved to Alice Springs and studied Art at Bachelor College in the early 2000’s. She loves teaching her language, Pitjatjantjara, to her Support Workers and fellow artists and is key in cultivating the exchange of knowledge and stories that transpires within the studio on a daily basis.
Tara is one of Bindi’s longest standing employees and is like the matriarch of this place. With her cheeky sense of humour she conducts banter that weaves joy throughout the workplace and perpetually boosts morale. Tara’s diligence and ability to organise the work she does is outstanding, putting in place considered and efficient systems that maximise productivity. Her enduring commitment to her work and her colleagues is treasured by everyone at Bindi.
Bindi Enterprises has been operating as an employment and community access provider in Alice Springs since 1978. The centre was established by parents of people living with disability to address the lack of employment and community engagement opportunities for those marginalised by mainstream workforces. Today, Bindi Enterprises continues to do this within three departments; The Contracts Department, the Bindi Workshop and the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists.
Bindi also provides community participation options for individuals to develop skills in a range of art and craft, work practices, commercial industries and independent living skills.
These services are complemented by tailored case management to enhance outcomes for people. This involves liaising with relevant service providers and fielding transitions into meaningful employment.
Bindi’s Story
The story of Bindi’s conception is one of pioneering and determination, community and care. At the time of its establishment in 1978 it was still common practice for people living with disability to spend their lives in institutions. Twelve years earlier Telka Williams had founded The Sunny Centre, Alice Springs’ first school catering specifically for young people with disability. Motivated by the need to provide education and community access to her daughter and other young people living with disability in Alice Springs, Telka saw the first generation of graduates were emerging with no real employment options available to them. Bindi was founded by Telka with the invaluable help of some volunteers and community goodwill on the principle that people living with a disability should have the right to access meaningful employment.
The First Contracts
For the first few years, Bindi operated out of a demountable hospital ward on the hospital campus in Alice Springs. Early contracts included laundry services and screen printing; t-shirts and tea towels. These contracts were supplemented by government grants and donations from local businesses, as well as various fundraising events to keep Bindi going and growing; cat walk parades, thong-a-thons, concerts, balls etc. Bindi’s employees were proud to organise these events and create autonomous income streams.
The Workshop
Bindi’s workshop was established in the wake of Bindi leaving behind these fundraising ventures in favour of more conventional modes of securing income. The workshop developed innovative products that catered to the needs of remote living; such as wooden boxes that would encase portable fridges being transported “out bush” along bumpy, unsealed roads. In another example of innovation, supported employees were able to circumvent obstacles in accessing various tools by designing and producing aids that enabled employees of all abilities to use these tools. In this way the employees were in charge of their own access. The Bindi workshop became famous for its wooden tucker boxes, which are still in production today. Other previous services included motorbike and lawnmower repairs, the haberdashery and a horticulture program.
The Artist’s Studio
Having become specialists in creating quality locally made goods, the prevalence of cheap, mass produced and imported products drove Bindi to redirect its energy into service-based business contracts and the Art Centre - Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists. The Mwerre Anthurre artist collective was founded in 2000 when the remarkable artistic talents of the late Billy Benn Perrurle emerged when he started his career painting on off- cuts of timber and sheets of metal from the Bindi workshop. From these humble beginnings the collective grew into an essential and distinctive Aboriginal Art Centre where today several artists create work that is exhibited nationwide.
The First Services
In 1980 Bindi established Alice Springs’ first group residential home for people with disability which went on to become CASA - Central Australian Supported Accommodation. Now an independent organisation CASA continues to provide supported accommodation in Alice Springs. Bindi was also responsible for setting up the first day program in Alice Springs in the year 2001. The mantra was community access, skill development, enjoyment and it was angled towards people with multiple and complex disabilities who had not been able to access the employment service. The service offered enriching programs including Horticulture, Bush Tucker, Multi-media, Art and Cultural onnections; which transported local Aboriginal participants to their home lands to reconnect to country.
Lifestyle Solutions
In 2012, Bindi Enterprises merged with Lifestyle Solutions, a national provider of services to people with disability as well as young people and children in Out of Home Care. With their backing Bindi was able to continue as an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) and gain financial stability. Lifestyle Solutions’ purpose and values closely matched Bindi’s own. Bindi’s participants and supported employees have shaped and directed the nature of the service and business from the beginning. As a result, Bindi has been at the forefront of disability services, not only in Central Australia where it operated as the only disability service for its first 20 years, but also around the country.
