April 2002. Here are some photos of the Irati Wanti office in new dugout, which is located very near to Umoona, the Aboriginal community where many of the Kungkas and their families live. EJ lives here, with Kanuka the dog (who is very human when he is not being a beast). There is a spare room deep in the dugout, and a 50's caravan, for itinerant guests.

A dugout is a kind of dwelling unique to Kupa Piti. Dug into the low hills, they are remnants of earlier opal mining activity, where miners would live (and some still do) in their mines. The temperature inside the dugout remains a constant 24-27 degrees C, and they are very quiet, except on windy nights, when you hear the air swirling through the air vents (they are the metal chimney pipes on the top of the hills).

The Irati Wanti office is often very alive with little kids and teenagers, who swarm in frequently. I feel pretty pasty and daggy in close proximity to the crew of fly girls and B boys. Everyone loves drawing and painting, and there's a busy clutter of textas and paper and cups of tea on the long low table in the kitchen. When I returned in April I brought a digital video camera with me, and Nellie (12) and Marissa (6) made some cute videos of us all, with their very direct interviewing technique.