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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Peter Brewer

Cobargo festival focus on a shed-led building recovery

Fire Up Cobargo Relief Festival organiser Kathryn Doolan with the festival merchandise which is already selling fast. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

For almost everyone living on a large rural block, their shed is a place of protection and practicality.

When everything on a bush property is razed to the ground by bushfire, as happened to thousands of people over the fierce and tragic summer, the shed becomes more than just storage and shelter; it's a place where rebuilding usually takes its first cautious steps.

So when the Fire Up Cobargo Relief Festival goes online in September, all the major fundraising will go into concrete, steel and Colorbond.

Kathryn Doolin, a Cobargo businesswoman who is the driving force behind the festival, said it's the most practical form of support people could want.

"There's been a lot of donated goods that have gone out to needy people in our community and that's wonderful; people have been so generous," she said.

Kathryn Doolin is organising the Fire Up Cobargo Relief Festival. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

"But if you've lost everything, as many people here have, then what good is a washing machine or furniture or a fridge when you haven't anywhere to put it?

"So this is our big focus for the festival: keep the funds in the community, employ locals, and give people a basic starting point for their rebuild."

One of the major stumbling blocks on which Ms Doolin is now working is to get the support of the Bega Valley Shire Council, and other councils around it, to fast-track the shed development applications.

The template she's hoping to have approved is a basic six-metre-by-six-metre Colorbond steel shed with a concrete floor, two roller doors and a lean-to at one side, a familiar sight on tens of thousands of bush blocks all over the country.

"It's something which can go up fast, is weatherproof and secure, has a lean-to where you can park your car or your caravan, and importantly for many people who are living on bush blocks, can collect rainwater," she said.

"We've got people out on fire-affected bush blocks living in caravans and under tarps and they're fencing and digging and clearing. They're trying to rebuild. But they need secure storage, and they need to collect rainwater."

Merchandise for September's Fire Up Cobargo Relief Festival, with artwork donated by Reg Mombassa. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

Ms Doolin said there were lessons for all fundraising organisers in the issues beset by Australian comedian Celeste Barber's social media campaign, which was launched on January 3.

Ms Barber's family is from Eden, on the far NSW South Coast, and it was set up quickly to support the NSW Rural Fire Service. The initial target was $30,000 and it raised a staggering $51 million.

But then the money, which Ms Barber had hoped would be dispersed more widely, got trapped within the RFS Donations Trust, which is governed by a trust deed and the RFS and Ms Barber's lawyers had to seek clarity from the Supreme Court on how the funds should be distributed.

"We're going to make sure that we have a very clear direction for what purpose the funds are used," Ms Doolin said.

"Celeste's fundraiser was just amazing but there are some signs that people are losing faith in where the money goes. We know, for instance, that we can have a basic shed built for between $7000 to $8000. If the festival raises $700,000, then that's 100 sheds. The money is spent in the local community and benefits the local community. That way it stays a very grassroots thing."

Ms Doolin said the campaign was set up to first support those people who were not insured, and were genuinely struggling. The first of the festival merchandise, with graphics by Australian artist Reg Mombassa, has arrived and it's already a sell-out.

"In this [Cobargo] community and all around this area, there are people have fallen through the cracks. We can't let that happen," she said.

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