Motherland
Our mission is to eliminate the crippling isolation many rural mums face by creating an online village and support that every rural mum can access, regardless of her location.
About our Motherland Village program
Congratulations on your pregnancy! We love your enthusiasm!
It’s important to have the right support system set up for you before you have your baby.
We recommend timing the start of your program when your baby is around 3 months. The fourth trimester can be a blur with lack of sleep and learning your new little one. The best time to join is when you’re all settled in and have the time to participate fully in the program!
Group composition really depends on who signs up for each intake and how people want to be matched. Once enrolled, you will be given the opportunity to preference if you would like to be located close to other participants (e.g. in your state or region if possible) or would prefer more anonymity. You can also indicate if you’d like to be matched with women with similar careers or lived experience, or a diverse group of mums.
Not all preferences are guaranteed as it of course depends on the types of women enrolling in the program at that time. We do our absolute best to give groups the best chance of success.
You may be matched with a group of mums with different living situations or farming operations to you, however most groups find what bonds them together is the similarity in feelings and the desire to connect with other rural mums.
We ask that you join Motherland Village with no judgement and an openness to getting to know your group on a deeper level.
Not at all! It’s open to rural mums with children aged 0-3 years, 4-10 years and 11-18 years. You just need to select the age category you are most interested in joining.
Unlike traditional mothers groups which are often run by Maternal Child Health Nurses, Motherland Village is focused on facilitating friendships and meaningful connections, and is run by Motherland’s trained ambassadors. Our program is not a replacement for any services offered by medical or allied health professionals and we do not offer any professional advice when it comes to your own health or the health of your child/ren.
If you need support in certain areas of expertise such as breastfeeding, sleep and settling (etc), we can point you in the right direction to services that can support you.
No. Joining the waitlist ensures you get the first chance to enrol in your mothers group when places open for that age-group. You’ll be the first to know when enrolments open (via email notification) giving you the chance to secure your spot before places are advertised publicly.
Each group is capped at 10 women maximum. Spots are limited for this reason.
A reliable internet connection, a mobile phone or laptop and your own Facebook account. We use Zoom for the video calls but you don’t require an account to join the calls.
Please note for privacy reasons, you cannot join the Facebook group that is set up for each Motherland Village with a shared Facebook account. You will need to create your own individual account prior to your group commencing.
Whichever age group you want! Pick one of your children’s ages bracket that you need the most support with which will connect you with rural mums with kids of a similar age.
Over the six-weeks, you will have 4 x 1 hour Zoom sessions with your group. These meetings are a critical part of the program and enable you to meet your group ‘face to face’ via video. Your facilitator will run each session and you’ll be given one month’s notice of the dates.
Other than those four sessions which are locked in at the start of the program, Motherland Village has been designed to be very flexible. You will be supported with weekly email check-ins from Steph, including suggested icebreakers and activities for your group.
In addition to Zoom calls, your group will have its own private Motherland Village Facebook group and Messenger chat.
Like anything, you get out what you put in and this will all depend on how engaged you are with your mother’s group.
If you’re eager to make meaningful connections and get to know the other rural mums as much as possible, please spend some time posting, chatting and getting to know them each week.
Unfortunately, no. They are scheduled in the evenings to allow participants the best chance to attend with no distractions. When these dates are locked in one month in advance of the program starting, please alert any support people you have so they can be around on those evenings to help with children if required.
These sessions are YOU time. It’s a commitment to yourself and your fellow group members. It’s a chance for you to invest in relationships with other mums. If you can’t get help though, don’t worry, you can show up however you need to, with kids in tow or not. The most important thing is that you join the call!
No problem! Our catch ups are very relaxed and family friendly. We understand unavoidable commitments pop up and your kids might need you. For younger children and babies, you might need to feed them, hold them or tend to them during our call, and they are absolutely welcome to join us!
Just please remember to pop your microphone on mute if you are not speaking so we can avoid background noise for your group.
Of course, if you really can’t make the call, then please let your facilitator know as soon as possible so we are not waiting for you unnecessarily on the night.
Absolutely! We encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and catch up as much as you want to outside the facilitated calls. The more chances you have to connect via video catch up, the better for your group’s relationship.
When the official Program ends, your group doesn’t! You are all free to keep chatting and connecting privately, continuing your journey together. That’s the beauty of it!
After Week 6, a handover will take place for your group where the Motherland team will leave the group permanently, and handover admin to all the members of your group so you take full control. To date, all our groups have kept in contact, with nearly 20 virtual villages full of rural mums still connecting!
Please email Steph and the team at hello@motherlandaustralia.com.au.
You can find them here
The four video calls are scheduled on a weeknight at 8pm NSW time. Once enrolled, you will be notified of the details one month prior to your group commencing.
All our facilitators are rural mums themselves who live and breathe life on the land, and understand the unique challenges or being a rural mother.
Our facilitators have been taken through Motherland’s extensive training program under the guidance of our CEO Stephanie Trethewey. Please note our facilitators are not mental health professionals. They can refer participants to the appropriate services, if required. All facilitators have completed Lifeline’s Accidental Counsellor and Domestic and Family Violence training as well as Empathy and Grief Training.
Our mission is to eliminate the crippling isolation many rural mums face by creating an online village and support that every rural mum can access, regardless of her location.