A group of entrepreneurial adolescents is recognized for having sold used clothing for an expedition container in their community of Arnhem distant from the northeast.
The Girri OPP Shop opened its doors two years ago in Gapuwiyak, a city of 1,000 inhabitants about 500 km east of Darwin.
The teacher of Gapuwiyak high school, Rebekah Ingamells, had worked on several business projects with her students, such as selling painted cups and postcards to tourists.
“We were looking for something a little more localized,” said Ms. Ingamells.
“There is such a need for clothing in this community and affordable clothes because there is only one shop.
“So we had the idea of managing an OP boutique that students would run as their next company.”
The teacher born in Melbourne grew up around used stores in the city, but the concept of retail was foreign to many Gapuwiyak.
“There is an OP store in Gove about three hours, but not much had already experienced it,” she said.
Boxes to an expedition container
The majority of opportunities stores in major cities are filled with donations placed in charity.
The isolated location of Gapuwiyak was an additional obstacle to donations, so the students began by sending an email to friends and former teachers outside the northeast of Arnhem.
“They send us donations in boxes, then we sort them and sell them,” said Ms. Ingamells.
I make sure everyone is doing their job and that we have a lot of clothes for sale.
The students initially rolled the goods on the school veranda and sold them in large containers.
Then, some local entrepreneurs sold an old shipping container at school, which was then shaped with a roof and doors.
The 11th year student Evelyn Gurruwiwi is the director of Girri Opp Shop and her friend Philipa Simon manages money.
They had never worked in a store before the school project and liked the idea of selling clothes, shoes, sheets and towels to their community.
“I make sure everyone is doing their job and that we have a lot of clothes for sale,” said Gurruwiwi.
Girls are paid for their time in free clothes and shoes.
“(I have now) racing shoes for basketball. I'm good in basketball,” she said.
This year, the Girri Opp Shop received a prize from the Northern Territory Youth Business.
The high school has also started to manage the store as a formal material as part of the distance learning program, Northern Territory Open Education (NTOEC).
“Thanks to this, we had to learn a little about marketing, and we made a rap song and advertisements for the OP boutique,” said Ms. Ingamells.
“They learn what it is to have a job, a responsibility, a teamwork.”
The word “girri” means clothes in the main language of the community, Djambarrupuyngu.
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