Participant Showcase — Nikki Thompson

Name : Nikki Thompson

Location : I live on ‘Echo Hills’ a family stewarded property in the Maranoa Region, Yiman Country 80 kms NE of Roma in Qld. We work with the natural intelligence of people, land, plants and animals to grow food and nourish life. Predominantly with grass fed beef.

A little bit about yourself and your work : I have worked in health all my life – initially as a physio, then in allied health management and over the last 13 years as a life coaching working with individuals and small businesses to help them thrive and flourish.

Why do you feel it's so important to tell regional stories? : I am passionate about the importance of grassroot communities and especially those in rural areas. it is easy to see what we may lack in resources in our regions and we often neglect to see the human potential that surrounds us. I have had a number of goes at building that in different ways over the decades. Initially with the concept of Creative Communities working with a couple other passionate women, then with small group work in Roma. It was when I was part of the Roma team with Queensland Connects, which is a regional entrepreneurship acceleration program sponsored by Advance Queensland, that I began to write stories about local people and some interesting visitors too. It was at the same time that a newspaper was starting in our region, when the original one stopped printing, and I reached out to the editor and owner to see if I could write a weekly column on local people as a volunteer.  That was August 2022 – how that time has flown!!