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Ingenuity creates solutions for remote communities

18 December 2017
Jobs, Land and Economy
Aboriginal man dressed in workwear, hat and sunglasses works on a steel structure set on red earth with grass and trees in the background and a bright blue sky overhead.

Technology designed and manufactured by the Centre for Appropriate Technology Ltd is assisting people to live in remote communities in Australia.

The challenges of living in remote communities across Australia are being overcome by the Centre for Appropriate Technology (the Centre), an Indigenous-owned business with offices in Alice Springs, Darwin and Cairns.

“What we focus on is delivering technologies in digital communications, renewable power systems, water management systems, and infrastructure building and design that provide those fundamental infrastructure platforms that allow people to live in remotes communities, effectively off–the-grid,” according to the Centre for Appropriate Technology Ltd CEO, Dr Steve Rogers.

Technologies developed by the Centre mean that remote communities can connect more easily with friends, family and colleagues around the country and the world. An important communications technology developed by the Centre is their mobile phone hotspot. The hotspot improves the signal of mobile phones in areas that don’t generally get mobile phone reception.

“Our service offering includes developing technology platforms to provide opportunities for people in rural and remote Australia to connect with their country,” said CEO Dr Steve Rogers.

Renewable energy and improving water management in remote communities is another area that the Centre focusses on, building vital infrastructure in remote communities around the country.

Aaron Burdett, Traditional Owner, Central and East McDonald Ranges works on solar panel projects for the Centre. “It’s good for the environment, renewable energy, that’s what it’s all about – protecting the environment.”

The Indigenous Procurement Program (IPP) aims to increase the number of Indigenous businesses winning government contracts. In the first two years of the policy, the Centre has provided services to the Commonwealth Government under 6 IPP contracts, valued at $1,115,509.

Find out more

Through the IPP, the Australian Government is tapping into the extraordinary capabilities within the Indigenous Business Sector. Further information is available at Indigenous Procurement Policy.