Wanga Kalkortnan - Listen, in silence. 

The ability to listen in silence is  a very unique methodology  that exists within First Nations Culture. For First Nations Peoples it is a comfortable state of being that sees us needing to sit in silence in order to  reflect inwards and outwards,  allowing  space for deep connection, awareness and listening to self, soul, ancestral messages, country and things taking place around us. 

Our ability to enter this state of being is constantly challenged by elements of the fast paced modern world thriving off materialism that we now find ourselves navigating through. 

Listening in silence, is a powerful healing tool in itself. Through this workshop we aim to reconnect First Nations People to this innate ability, for them to utilise it as the basis for healing, self care and wellness. 

Delivery Method: In-Person 

Location: Australia Wide 

Age: 14+

Wooka keeyn Toopoongnan Ngotook - give love to yourself

Since european settlement First Nations Peoples have received labels that have been forced upon on them so significantly that they often become the reality of how we see ourselves. Dirty, shame, violent, insignificant, alcoholics and bludgers to name a few.  When we  start to see ourselves through the lens of these labels, it becomes detrimental to our wellbeing. 

This workshop will involve stripping back and freeing ourselves from those labels and celebrating the uniqueness and beauty of who we are as First Nations Peoples at an individual and collective level. 

Through a positive, uplifting and strength based experience participants in this workshop will leave empowered and understanding of their worthiness of self love and care and will no longer limit themselves to the labels they come to know. 

Delivery Method: In-Person 

Location: Australia Wide 

Age: 14+

Peeneeyt pernmeeyal - Strong Spirit 

Drawing on First Nations traditional practices such as song, dance, storytelling, arts, craft, ceremony and yarning circles, this workshop specifically designed for First Nations participants will begin through addressing and eliminating  “shame”.  The experience will then transition into connecting with the intergenerational strength, wisdom and power that comes with being connected to the longest living culture in existence. This workshop will provide a safe space to explore cultural identity and expression. Participants will leave with a sense of resilience, belonging to community, pride and a spark of inspiration to continue their journey of cultural connection and healing.

Delivery Method: In-Person 

Location: Australia Wide 

Age: 14+

Walatha Ngootook Koytpa Koy koy - Embrace your story

As First Nations Peoples a method of learning, communication, understanding and knowledge transferring for thousands of generations has been storytelling. In a modern context we connect deeply when we are able to express our collective story’s and personal narratives in authentic, meaningful, honest and direct ways. 

Coming from the longest living culture in existence and then surviving the brutalness of colonisation, beneath the trauma stories are stories that are rooted in profound wisdom, strength, inspiration, and knowledge.

In this workshop participants will reflect deeply on their personal narrative and will go through a transformational process of acknowledging all elements of their story, acknowledging it, celebrating it and owning it with pride. 

This workshop facilitates a  process that is  critical to healing. Participants will leave feeling confident to express their story without the element of “shame”. 

Delivery Method: In-Person 

Location: Australia Wide 

Age: 16+

Keeweerrlakeenpa - Make a noise! 

This hands on, strengths based, creative workshop will facilitate a process for the participant group to develop a social action project, message or initiative that contributes towards taking a stand against against  issues affecting First Nations Peoples or one that promotes connection, love and hope to their peers and broader community. In this workshop, participants will discover pride and purpose, through the realisation that they can contribute to changing issues that feel out of their control. So often we First Nations Peoples are silenced. WE ARE HERE TO MAKE A NOISE! 

Delivery Method: In-Person 

Location: Australia Wide 

Age: 14+

Karreeta Meerta Peeneeyt - Grow & rise up Strong 

Karreeta Meerta Peeneeyt - Grow and Rise Up Strong is a personal development and cultural mentoring  program for First Nations Young People between 16-18 years of age. 

The program is guided by growing evidence and First Nations knowledge that connection to culture, land, community, spirituality and ancestry are critical protective factors to preventing suicide and restablishing purpose and meaning amongst the First Nations population. 

This intensive program aims to work closely with participants over a three year cycle through a combination of virtual and face to face workshops, cultural camps and tailored one on one mentoring, designed and delivered by First Nations Peoples and informed by Yarn Barks First Nations Pillars. 

This program aims to support young people to heal, to realise their inherited strength, knowledge and capacity to live holistically healthy lives and to build resilience to external societal pressures, behaviours and perceptions, ultimately relinquishing them  from entrenched intergenerational trauma and sadness and therefore breaking free from cycles. 

Karreeta Meerta Peeneeyt will better equip First Nations young people to navigate and cope with the world they live in today through intensive capacity building and facilitating spaces that support them in discovering their true, best and strongest selves.

Healing our healers on country 

Healing Our Healers on Country are experiences  specifically targeted at First Nations People over 18 years of age that work tirelessly across the community to provide frontline care and support and to achieve better social, emotional and holistic health outcomes for First Nations People and Communities across a diversity of sectors and spaces.

It is to common that we are seeing First Nations People that devote their lives to this work, experiencing severe mental, emotional and spiritual burnout. This is a result of having to invest their whole being into the work, unable to separate personal, professional and community expectations and constantly having to fight against and justify systems change. Whilst not being able to find the time, opportunity or spaces to participate in culturally tailored self care, as their responsibility is often to provide that to others within the community. 

“Healing Our Healers on Country” will provide an opportunity for these workers to slow down and prioritise their own self care and wellness through traditional cultural healing and expression methodologies and will provide tools to maintain and prioritise self care and wellness when returning to their fields of work.

A series of “Healing Our Healers on Country” Experiences will be delivered throughout each year and it is encouraged that expenses for First Nations workers to attend are covered by their workplaces where possible. Alternatively, teams and organisations can book individually for a more tailored and intimate experience.

Crafting our healing Experience - Artefact making program 

When Yarn Bark was first established we had a specific focus on traditional craft and artefact making. After many years of sharing this ancient practice and the end to end process of brining artefacts to life, we have come to know the deeper healing and well being elements that can be experienced throughout the process.

It facilitates a journey of connection to self, others and the land and provides a space for physical, emotional, spiritual, cultural and creative expression. Therefore becoming  a practice that increases well-being and facilitates healing. 

Participants will create their very own artefacts to keep while immersing themselves deeply in the process. 

Wayapa Ngarrakeetoon meerreeng  - Connected families on country

Yarn Bark believes strongly in whole of family elements involved in healing and wellness. Often First Nations families aren’t provided the space to slow down and connect deeply in an environment that is beyond what they live and experience everyday. 

Our family connection days will be delivered on 100 acres of beautiful bushland in central victoria, which will allow families to escape their everyday routines to a  peaceful, grounding and spiritual place. 

It will be a gently facilitated  experience themed around connection to culture, self, each other and the land. 

Families will leave feeling stronger, more connected,  and confident in their abilities to support each other. 

Ngooyt Ngeeye Wartee - Healing our brothers 

“Ngooyt Ngeeye Wartee - Healing our brothers” is a program that has been designed specifically for First Nations Men who are 18+. 

This program creates a safe space for men to express themselves emotionally in sacred circles  free from shame, fear and judgement . 

This program will facilitate activities that support in the process of  healing, developing healthy behaviours and habits, reconnecting to roles and responsibilities within family and community and in developing mechanisms and tools of cultural and spiritual expression. Whilse having a  strong focus on self care and addressing violence against women within our First Nations Communities.