Salty Monkeys get serious CDP trial projects fostering long term jobs

The Goshen Church upgrade on Erub is a collaborative community project aimed at providing five CDP participants with paid employment and valuable experience.

The initiative, known as the CDP Community Project, was part of a larger effort to foster long term employment pathways in the Torres Strait.

BY CHRISTINE HOWES

A set of monkey masks and a chance sighting on Instagram have set local business Salty Monkeys and Meriba Ged Ngalpun Mab (MGNM) on a partnership path set to lead in service and program delivery for Torres Strait Islander people.

“Salty Monkeys was never intended to be a business,” founder Dennis Fay said.

“It actually started off with just mates going out, doing what they love, which was all ocean-related.

“We were going out spear fishing, diving, and one day we had some monkey masks and we used the masks to have a bit of a joke and a laugh.

“We had that on video and it took off from there, where people were actually finding the funny side of us goofing around with these monkey masks.

“Salty Monkeys as a name was quite fitting for what we were doing, and it stuck.”

He said as their following grew, some opportunities to help promote other businesses were offered.

“As it took off, people wanted to wear the products that we were using or wearing, and that included our own apparel,” he said.

“So we started selling apparel, and because a lot of people were wanting our stuff, we wanted to get a little bit more innovative with a little bit more style, so I reached out to Indigenous artists, and we collaborated from there.”

He said over time they realised they had influence.

“Over the years it built a bit more popularity and we had this strong impact, especially in the youth community up in the Torres Straits,” he said.

“So we started volunteering our time just going out into the communities and the schools to engage and try to have some positive impact in the schools.

“And that’s lead us towards the other things that we’re doing now.”

Enter MGNM.

“We’re about to do a youth leadership program in June, July, working with the youth that love watching our videos,” Dennis said.

“But this time they’re going to be a part of the videos and we’re going to create promotional content of positive topics within the community, such as taking care of our environment, safety above and below the ocean, listening to our elders, which is the current NADOC theme, and a few more things like that.”

MGNM Executive Officer Marcella Ketchell said when she saw Salty Monkeys posts on Instagram, she realised they had a lot of followers in the Torres Strait and took it from there.

“I saw their posts were about awareness, information and education, so, I reached out and suggested to Dennis there were opportunities coming up for us to collaborate with them,” she said.

“It was firstly around youth engagement, because they’ve got a very good social media presence and profile, and have a lot of followers from the Torres Strait region.

“But then it developed into them working on a marine development program we’re hoping to roll out by October.

“It’s an opportunity to provide a program for our job seekers to improve and increase their safety and awareness when they’re out on the water.

“It’s such a big part of their life, going out to hunting, fishing, or just for recreational and travel, so that marine development program will be a good entry level, unaccredited course into further training if they want to go into it, or just as a safety and awareness training for them while they’re doing things in community, or while they’re taking part in different seasons for hunting.”

Dennis said they were excited about the idea.

“The marine development program is basically a uniquely designed program that teaches job seekers basic but essential skills they would need to pursue further in any kind of maritime career opportunities,” he said.

“We’ve got seven subjects we’re delivering, and the aim behind it is to give the people skills, exposure and a bit of practise before they go further into it.

“So we’ll be looking at those skills and giving them confidence to take on the bigger courses such as your coxswains or your maritime operations.

“The aim is to get them inspired to take that next step.

“So whether it’s going on to a four-week intensive course or going out into a direct entry type role within the community or anywhere, they’ve got that bit of skill and knowledge there.

“And a lot of them already have the skills in the Torres Strait, we’re just kind of formalising it a little bit more, and helping them get out there a little bit more as well.

“I’m definitely excited.”

Marcella said she was too.

“This is setting the example,” she said.

“Showing people in community that we can have our own people delivering these programs for us, and it can be successful.

“Salty Monkeys is an emerging entrepreneurial business with professional, high standards, and I think that’s also what we want to show our job seekers and people in community, that our people can deliver programs and services to a high standard.

“We’re proud of that, we’re proud of our staff and being able to provide them with leadership, capacity building and mindset training.

“And we’re excited to work with Salty Monkeys, it’s empowering for our people to see our own people leading in service and program delivery for our people and communities.”

You can follow MGNM and Salty Monkeys on Facebook and Instagram for more information.

Managed by Meriba Ged Ngalpun Mab (MGNM), and coordinated by cultural mentor and qualified supervisor Kapua Gutchen, the Goshen Church project has made significant progress since its inception in March.

MGNM CDP Community Project Manager Jermaine Reuben – who has accomplished 28 CDP Trial Project job placements across the region – praised the project for providing skill-building and cultural mentorship to its participants.

“The project currently accommodates five participants, who receive competitive wages, in line with the local pay scale,” he said.

“This approach not only provides paid employment but also remunerates the participants’ for their valuable contributions to the project.”

Additional participants may be considered based on location, project requirements and funding availability as the CDP Community Project progresses, he said.

“Other renovation projects are currently in progress across the region,” he said.

“While the focus is on practical experience, future plans involve linking training programs to construction-related qualifications.

“The Goshen Church Project not only contributes to the physical improvement of the Erub community, but also enables economic empowerment.

“The success of this project will determine the format of similar projects, across communities in the Torres Strait region.”

Final work on the Goshen Church were set to be completed next month. Pics supplied.