Broome ladies dominate rural award nominations

The hard work of two Broome ladies has been acknowledged in the form of nominations for a prestigious State award.

Lauren Bell and Cara Peek have both been named as finalists for the 2020 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award for their extensive work in their respective fields.

Ms Bell earned her nomination for developing a start-up that seeks to utilise insect farming as a way of sustainably managing organic waste, with the aspiration of developing a model that would be used in towns across WA’s North West.

Ms Bell believes the insect farming model will have the capacity to foster economic growth in the North West through job creation and support local agriculture through the provision of feed and fertilser products.

Ms Peek has been nominated for her extensive work in many roles from lawyer to entrepreneur, co-founding the Cultural Intelligence Project and developing the not-for-profit Saltwater Country, focusing on empowering First Nations people to improve their social, emotional and economic well-being.

Ms Peek is planning to create Saltwater Academy, a rite of passage through a collective of targeted place-based people-centred programs celebrating the Kimberley’s Aboriginal pastoral industry heritage.

Ms Bell and Ms Peek are two of the five finalists up for the award, where the winner will be announced at a ceremony in Perth on April 8.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development general director Ralph Addis congratulated the finalists who have demonstrated how they inspire and support their regional industries and local communities.

“These finalists have very diverse expertise and interests, but what they have in common is they are innovators, collaborators and leaders in their fields and excellent ambassadors for Western Australia’s regional communities,” he said.

The winner of the 2020 WA AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award will receive a $10,000 business development award to help develop their project and compete in the national AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.