Not all interventions in Aboriginal Australia are inspired by external agents, politics or ideology. Some arise from simple, pragmatic responses to community needs where people and their aspirations are central. Historian Alan Mayne unravels a story of people, place and relationships. At once both personal and intensely political, this is a journey of ideas into action; intervention through innovation.

In 2010, thirty years after an initial start-up grant of $40,000, an Aboriginal owned science and technology organisation (CAT) was operating with an annual turnover in excess of $20 million and a staff of 130 providing technical services to over 500 remote Aboriginal communities spread across the northern half of Australia. An institution linking people with technology, sustaining livelihoods on country.

'This remarkable story of persistence and purpose should be told as an inspiration to all concerned with the development of appropriate technologies to meet new challenges in human societies. It encourages optimism about the future of Aboriginal people in a climate of uncertainty.' - Professor Basil Hetzel AC - former Chancellor University of South Australia and Emeritus Professor University of Adelaide

'It is clear that it is the human dimension of science and technology about which the least is known.' - Bruce Walker, founder, Centre for Appropriate Technology

'This is a vastly interesting examination of organisational success using sustainable methods to address community development in the Outback. The lively historical discussion is aided by 16 pages of coloured photographs, maps and many greyscale photographs. Alternative Interventions is a must for policymakers and those interested in Indigenous politics.' - Maggie Tate, Global Media Post