During a CIG meeting in Loddon Mallee, in response to the Bouverie CIG facilitator offering free NBT workshops for local counsellors, a CIG member strongly argued that the community needed very specific practical supports – rather than No Bullshit Therapy training for general counsellors. Her argument was that NBT supports should be made available for community members who come into contact with farmers on a regular basis. A similar recommendation was made by Blau (2006) reporting on early drought work from this region. The CIG member argued for up-skilling every person who comes into contact with farmers; everyone who sits down with a farmer – truck drivers, St Vinnies, Salvos, child care centre staff, school teachers, ministers, vets, police, etc. . This suggestion reverberated with the general theme of exhausted community members, which was reported by other CIGs across the state. The insistence from the Loddon Mallee CIG that something happen sooner rather than later, led the Bouverie team to draft up a half day program, road test it with other CIGs and then pilot it in Loddon Mallee region on the 15th November, 2007.
This process reflected the philosophy of the project: Bouverie providing support to local initiatives, informed by state-wide knowledge generated via the CIG - CIGAR network, whilst drawing on local skills (in this case Ruth Turpin- local drought counsellor, who co-facilitated the NB Support pilot with Pam Rycroft from The Bouverie Centre).
