ABCD Inc Storytelling Project
Residents of Bell, Clarence and Dargan who attended the storytelling workshop at the Lithgow Transformation Hub on Saturday, April 15, 2023
THE NEED
The residents of the villages of Bell, Clarence and Dargan suffered, per capita, some of the greatest losses of homes in New South Wales during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020. In total, 108 buildings in Bell, Clarence and Dargan were reported as destroyed or damaged by police out of a total population of only 327 (as was recorded in the 2021 census).
In addition to this, bushfire consultant Tony Hawkins who visited the area in 2023, commented that it was the most environmentally devastated region he had seen after he had toured and visited many of the bushfire affected areas in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria after the Black Summer fires.
With the chaos that ensued in the aftermath of the fires, which was then shortly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, residents had not had a formal opportunity to come together and talk about what had happened.
THE PROJECT
In April 2023, a group of local residents participated in an initial phase of a community-led storytelling project which was spearheaded by Cathy MacNamara, an ABDC Inc committee member. A dinner and series of workshops were facilitated by Bernadette Foley, a local resident and book publisher and Claire Absolum, the Communications Manager at Resilient Villages who has a background in documentary filmmaking and tv journalism. The storytelling workshops were emotional and moving as residents openly shared their experiences and losses over the Black Summer fires as well as their joy of living in Bell, Clarence and Dargan.
KEY INFORMATION
Storytelling dinner held at the Blue Fox Restaurant in Lithgow on Friday, April 14, 2023
Writing Storytelling and Digital Storytelling workshops held at the Lithgow Transformation Hub on Saturday, April 15, 2023
Zoom writing sessions held throughout Spring
STAKEHOLDERS
ABCD Inc
Residents of Bell, Clarence & Dargan
FUNDERS
Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by both the Australian and NSW governments
Resilient Villages