Quinkan
NGARRA’s Uganda Village project is a community-based initiative aimed at empowering youth in a remote village in Uganda through the transformative power of photography and storytelling.
our story
a tale of a thousand frames
chapter one: Frame one
when we see through their eyes, we remember the truth.
It is not our vision that will save the world, but theirs.
I was standing somewhere deep in the heart of the Northern Territory on the continent currently known as Australia when an experience was going to shift the way I saw myself in the world. In front of me was a house, though most wouldn’t call it that. Scraps of iron sheeting, old timber, held together with a few screws, rope and hope. A place built from whatever the land and community offered and found. A place that shouldn’t be standing, but did, just like the people living inside it. I had my camera with me, as always. Ready to frame things, to find the right angle, to capture the moment, to tell the story I thought needed to be told. I’d done it a thousand times before – slip in quietly, document, slip out again – leaving with pockets full of other people’s stories to share with the world.
But that day, a little boy stood beside me. No older than eight years old. Bare feet, dusty, eyes sharp like a hawk’s and a heart soft like river clay. He just stood there, silent, breathing with me. Waiting. I don’t know what made me do it. Maybe the ancestors of that place whispered, and maybe I listened. Maybe the land nudged me, and maybe I felt it. I don’t know. But I handed that boy my camera. I didn’t say a word, just showed him how to use it and stepped back.
And in that moment, everything shifted...
He lifted the camera to his eye. He wasn’t framing or composing. He was seeing – with every fibre of his being, without ego, without wanting to capture or keep. Just seeing. Later, I checked what he had taken. There on the screen was his grandmother, her head poking out the door frame into the light, laughing. Her eyes crinkled with love. The patched-up walls glowing around her. In that image, I saw what I could never see with my own eyes, could never capture with my frame. That boy didn’t only take a photograph, he showed me the world as it truly is. His world. He reminded me the stories worth telling are not mine to take. They are gifted by those who live them with truth and clarity. That these stories are the ones that matter the most.
This entire project began with something so simple that it almost got lost in the noise. One small gesture, one quiet moment. A camera, handed to a child. In that fleeting instant a window opened onto something immeasurably larger than I could have imagined. It ignited a question within me; what could happen if the young people in these remote communities, these marginalized people could stand in their own light, in their own right. If they could tell their own truths, and preserve the threads of culture that have guided their families for generations? What if this empowerment could, in turn, generate the resources needed to manifest tangible, transformative, real lasting change in their communities? I carried my camera across Australia, to slums in Mumbai, jungles of Guatemala, streets of South East Asia, the remote villages of the Himalayas – and everywhere I went, in every frame those children took, I didn’t find pain or hopelessness. I found unbreakable light: family, connection, community, love, and true happiness.
that was the birth of ngarra
& the beginning of a chapter that would change thousands of lives.
The moment it all came together and marked the official start of what would become the Ngarra project, was when I sat in ceremony with Dig, and he placed his handprint in the warm red earth by the campfire. We each hold a fragment of the pattern of creation. What we have to do is bring those fragments back together. You do not need to tell their story, you need to help them tell their own, that’s your role. To bring those pieces back together. Bring them all back around that one fire, so we can be together as one again. Ngarra.
Sitting across from Dig next to that fire under that vast, star-filled sky, he drew the plan for this project in the earth, sung up the story in the sands, and gifted the title of what we had to do. It wasn’t just a word. It was a way of seeing, a way of being. An invitation for everyone to remember that everything – people, animals, the land itself – all belongs in one circle. One fire. One story. Together as one.
together as one.
one people. One family. one fire.
The Ngarra project, as you see it today, can be credited to my mentor, Dig Jones. He said to me,
‘Share the stories. Not just the ones I tell you, but the ones the land is whispering to you, the ones waiting to be heard. Take them to the people. Help them hear. Help them see. Help them remember. Then, help them share their own. Invite all of them to sit by the fire, and share the stories. That is what we need to do. We all hold part of the big story, fragments of the pattern of creation – we just have to bring them all back around one fire. That’s what I am asking you to do.’
This wasn’t just advice; it was a mandate, a calling to fundamentally shift how we engage with the world and its narratives. That night by the fire Dig asked me to step into a responsibility, into a role that transcended telling a story, and touched the core of what it means to live in relation. He asked me to carry forward a way of being, a way of seeing, a way of walking gently with the land, with the people, the creatures, with creation itself. To help share those ways, and to helping others share theirs alongside our own. To help bring everyone back into relation, under the lore of the land, as custodians of creation, all our stories together around the one fire, back to the knowing we all once held, but have since forgotten.
Ngarra is one of the ways I promised to do that. It is a way to amplify voices that have been silenced or drowned out, to help young people reclaim their stories and share them with a world that desperately needs to hear them, and to awaken a deeper sense of belonging, pride, and purpose in those who have long been made to feel invisible. It is their photos, their films, their art, their stories that invite us to look closer, listen deeper, connect with the world in new ways, and in many ways, in the old ways we are all a memory of.
By lifting each other’s voices, we ensure no one stands alone.
I have seen what happens when a child sees their photograph hanging on a gallery wall. I’ve seen the pride in their eyes, the strength in their voice when they realize that their story matters. That they matter. I’ve seen the connections that form when someone on the other side of the world looks at that image and feels something shift inside them, and in that moment know that they will; never be the same.
This is more than an arts project, it’s a movement of reciprocity, of giving, and of sharing. It’s a promise to the next generation that their perspectives matter, their voices carry the power to reshape the world, and that they belong fully and unapologetically in the telling of our collective story. It assures them they are not alone, that they are the continuation of something sacred, and the beginning of something new.
Dig trusted me to tend to this fire, and this fire is meant to be shared. When you sit by it, you feel its warmth, you hear the stories being shared – you are reminded that we are all connected, that we all have a place, and that the way forward is together.
this is where we began, but where we end, this we decide together, as one.
the first curRency
from ancient lore of a cursed currency to a modern movement of generosity
this is why NGARRA champions the free flow of resources, operating as a not for profit project, prioritizing purpose over profit, & rejecting hoarding to heal communities & restore balance - all coming from a new landscape 12,000 years old.
Lore from far north Queensland Australia tells story of a rare shell that became the currency, and how its hoarding led to imbalance, sickness, and the fracturing of community. This ancient wisdom, born from a volcanic landscape, a rainforest where the ocean meets the mountains, and the journey of a rainbow serpent, starkly reveals that true value lies not in accumulation, but in the boundless flow of resources and deep connection. It is this very understanding that guides NGARRA, inspiring our non-profit model where 100% of profits return to the communities, ensuring that the creative spirit and its fruits nourish the roots, fostering an economy of generosity and right relation, embodying the spirit of ‘napagi napagi’ – give, give. We stand as a living testament to what happens when generosity fuels the system, in stark contrast to the stagnation and sickness that arise when resources are hoarded and velocity ceases. To truly grasp the ancient lessons that shape our path and illuminate our commitment to an economy of generosity and right relation, delve deeper into the full story of the shells.
read the cautionary tale of the first currency
A new landscape, some 12,000 years old, a volcanic cataclysm made way for a lush rainforest & big story. In that place, along a small stretch of coastline, lived a rare striped shell. Because of its scarcity, the local custodians, in their wisdom, began to experiment. They endowed these shells with value, allowing them to become a form of currency, traded across the country. It was an attempt to facilitate exchange, to make things flow.
But the unexpected happened. People began to collect these shells, to hold them, to hoard them. The natural rhythm of the community faltered. Things stopped moving. The velocity, the lifeblood of connection, slowed. Familial relationships frayed, war and violence stirred, and the people themselves grew sick. The very system meant to connect began to divide.
In the dreaming of that part of Queensland, a rainbow serpent, a spirit of creation, was known to journey from the sea to the tableland along the waterways. One day, as the serpent made its sacred passage, the people saw thousands of shells, glittering and stuck in its scales. Driven by a hunger that had grown within them, a greed born of the shells, they murdered the serpent and stole its bounty.
When they saw what they had done, what the pursuit of these shells had driven them to, what this monetary system had wrought upon their community, the experiment was abandoned. It was a lesson learned, etched into their lore, never to be repeated. Lessons in greed, in the profound wisdom of sharing freely, in the true currency of family and equity, in the real value of trade that nurtures rather than extracts – all these are embedded within this ancient lore. It taught them, with stark clarity, that people are not meant to live this way.
The rainbow serpent is more than a creature, it is the spirit of creation. And this story warns that if we choose to live in a way that hoards, that takes without giving, that prioritizes accumulation over connection, you will, inevitably, kill all of creation. Isn’t that what we see in our modern world? A relentless, feverish chase for ephemeral ‘shells’ made of zeros and ones, forced to survive in an economic system that thrives on exclusion, where value is only found when something is priced, when someone is deliberately left out.
All inequality, all prejudice, all the sickness we see in our societies – these are but symptoms of a growth-based, pathological economic system. And people are sick of it. Because deep within us, we know, inherently, that to live this way is in direct opposition to the laws of the land, to the natural flow of life.
This ancient story, this profound wisdom, is the reason why NGARRA exists as a non-profit project, prioritizing purpose above profit, always. We understand that true value lies not in holding, but in flowing. It is why 100% of all profits; from the sale of the young artists’ work, to our films, all money from our initiatives and works flows directly back into community. We do not hoard; we facilitate the movement of resources, just as the land facilitates the movement of water and life. We believe that by empowering these young voices, by sharing their stories, and by ensuring that the fruits of their creativity return to nourish their roots, we are participating in a different kind of economy – an economy of generosity, of reciprocity, of true connection. We are listening to the ancient call, the wisdom these stories hold, and choose to live in right relation.
Indigenous knowledge systems, from all corners of the earth, offer the path forward in fixing the broken systems that are in place. We just have to ask, to truly listen, and to be willing to change. We need to. For the sake of all creation, and for the generations yet to come.
This is why we must return to the lore, to the stories – for they hold the way, the blueprint for a future where humanity lives in harmony with itself and with all creation.
behind the lens
behind the camera , behind the stories, behind the mission
andrew d flanagan
founder & director of ngarra
Photographer, filmmaker, writer and storyteller. Andrew’s work in preservation and conservation documenting peoples, cultures, and countries has taken him across 127 countries and 7 continents. His mission, as given to him by his mentor Dig, is a task that has redefined Andrew’s life, refocusing everything he does; to retrieve forward ancient ways of knowing to bring people back under the lore of the land, and back into their role as custodians of creation by sharing right story.
Ngarra is one of responses to that calling, braiding cameras, community, and culture like lines drawn in the red dust – reminders that land, story, and spirit are all connected and that each of us has a place within them.
I started Ngarra not from a singular idea, but from many. From my experiences sitting with indigenous communities around the world and from a deeper knowing of my own, through a quiet instruction passed down through the whispers of those who have walked this land for generations. It was an ask from elders, a reminder that the stories that truly matter – those woven into the very fabric of land, culture, and community – are too often silenced, distorted, or simply lost in the clamor of a world that forgets to listen. This project, then, is more than just a creative endeavor; it is a sacred responsibility, a response to that ancient call.
What has become the Ngarra project was born from a commitment to help young people reclaim their voice, to ensure that the wisdom held by elders finds its rightful passage to new generations, and to empower communities to reframe how they are seen and understood, not through external lenses, but through their own authentic truth. It is a living, breathing response to a profound, unwavering directive: to protect what sustains us, to mend the broken threads of connection, and to remind each other, through the powerful currents of story, image, and right relationship, of who we truly are, and who we are meant to be, collectively, become.
We are guided by the lore, not just the stories of this land, but the wisdom carried by the old people from every community we walk with. It is about bringing all these stories together, as Dig said, to that large, intercontinental common lore that shows us all how to walk in right relation. And when we truly walk in that right relation, when we listen to the collective wisdom of the earth and its peoples, we can, indeed, change the world.
our web of relations holds us
stories aren’t just tales - they’re patterns, maps, & guides that show us how to walk the land, live in relation, & carry wisdom forward.
The strength of our work lies in the circle we create around the fire. Each person who sits with us, whether a child in a village, a team member in our crew, a sponsor, partner, or a creative collaborator helping make dreams realities – each bring their own unique web of relations and stories to the fire. Their unique skills, perspectives, and experiences form a collective that ensures every story we share carries depth, truth, and authenticity.
Just as every voice around the fire matters, every member of our circle plays a vital role in shaping what we create. Photographers, writers, designers, storytellers, moms, dads, aunties, uncles, grandparents, children – all have their part to play. Every voice adds richness to the work, making it more than the sum of its parts. Together, we honor the traditions of the past while carving a path toward a future rooted in respect, understanding, and the kind of empowerment that grows from shared commitment. Sitting by the fire, we don’t just tell stories – we weave connection, nurture community, and hold space for what has been, what is, and what’s still to come.
wHy join the firE?
something we ask of everyone who works with us
The VA Network partners with Ngarra to elevate Indigenous voices and empower youth through photography and storytelling, amplifying their shared mission of fostering cross-cultural understanding and creating global impact by bringing powerful community stories to a wider audience.
earth legacy
social good creative studio
Ngarra’s vision of creating lasting change in communities aligns perfectly with our own goals of fostering cross-cultural understanding and building a global community. By featuring Ngarra’s projects on our streaming service, we are able to bring these powerful stories to a wider audience, creating a ripple effect that inspires and educates. Joining forces with Ngarra means that together, we can make a greater impact and ensure that Indigenous voices are not just heard, but celebrated on a global stage.
the va network
not for profit first nations & indigenous streaming platform
Ngarra’s commitment to empowering youth, preserving cultural heritage, and fostering community development through storytelling perfectly aligns with our own objectives. We believe that by supporting Ngarra, we are not only helping to build a sustainable future for these communities but also contributing to a broader movement of cultural preservation and social good. It’s inspiring to see the impact that Ngarra is having, and we are proud to be a part of this incredible journey. Together, we are empowering the next generation of storytellers and change-makers.
the ita foundation
not for profit digital creative studio
a legacy written in the land
in memory of dig jones
While Dig is no longer walking Country beside us, his presence is felt in every step of this journey. This project is a testament to his vision – a campfire that calls to all who are ready to sit, listen, and share. It is a space to honour the past, celebrate the present, and envision a future where humanity remembers its place in the great pattern of creation. This fire invites us all to step back into our role as custodians of creation. To bring all our stories along side each other, for each of us carries a fragment of this pattern, a fractal of the whole.
One of the most powerful ways to bring the world back into harmony is through the eyes of its children. Because they see a truth we have been trained out of seeing. When we let the youth tell their stories, When we let the youth tell their stories, when we hand them the tools to share their vision, we’re reawakening that truth in ourselves. We’re allowing their clarity, unburdened by centuries of grown-up forgetting, to remind us of the patterns that hold us all. And in that remembering, we step closer to the harmony we’ve been seeking all along.
