DEVELOPMENT

“From Seeds to Harvest”
Honouring TOMAK 10 Year Program

Project Overview

Sector
Development

Client
TOMAK, Australian Aid

Brief
Development and delivery of communication products for the TOMAK 10-Year Program.

Deliverables

  • 12-minute documentary film

  • 114-page commemorative publication

  • Seven short-form videos for social media

  • Poster campaign featuring 20 beneficiary stories

  • Communication materials for national and municipal events

Timeframe
5 months

Scope of Work
Creative direction, photography and film production, video editing, graphic design, editorial design, art direction and print coordination

Filed coverage
2,500+ km across Baucau, Viqueque and Bobonaro

Project Approach
Field-based documentation and production developed in close coordination with communities, local stakeholders, implementing partners and institutional representatives.

Project Reference
Reference letter provided by TOMAK.

Over four months, TRIBU collaborated with TOMAK — an agricultural programme supported by the Australian Aid — to develop a body of communication work marking ten years of implementation across Timor-Leste.

The assignment brought together documentary production, editorial design, photography, campaign development, and event communication into a single integrated process focused on translating programme outcomes into accessible and human-centred narratives.

The work began with a detailed immersion into TOMAK’s framework, objectives, and communication priorities, ensuring that all creative outputs remained aligned with the programme’s intended outcomes and institutional context.

Field production took place across Baucau, Viqueque and Bobonaro during the rainy season, covering more than 2,500 kilometres of travel and documenting communities, agricultural practices, local markets, and programme activities across diverse rural settings.

At the centre of the project was a 12-minute documentary developed as the main narrative piece for the anniversary programme. The film brought together perspectives from farmers, community members, implementing partners, private sector actors, and institutional representatives, creating a unified narrative around ten years of impact and collaboration.

Building from this narrative foundation, TRIBU developed Portraits of Progress — a visual campaign portraying 21 farming beneficiaries through a transformation-based storytelling approach focused on progress, resilience, and tangible outcomes.

A parallel series of short-form social media films expanded the communication strategy into digital platforms, addressing themes including inclusion, youth participation, nutrition, market access, and climate-smart agriculture.

The project also included the development of a 114-page commemorative publication combining editorial design, photography, illustration, data visualisation, and a custom iconography library created specifically for the programme. Additional communication materials were produced for national and municipal events connected to the anniversary initiative.

This collaboration reflects TRIBU’s approach to communication work: combining field engagement, strategic understanding, and integrated creative production to develop clear, context-aware communication for development and institutional partners.

DOCUMENTARY

“Husi Fini ba Kolleita”

A 12-minute documentary developed as the central narrative piece of the TOMAK 10-Year Programme, bringing together voices from communities, partners, institutions, and the agricultural sector to reflect a decade of implementation across Timor-Leste.

Social media short videos

Outcome stories

A series of seven short films extending the documentary narrative across digital platforms, focusing on key themes such as inclusion, youth participation, nutrition, market access, and climate-smart agriculture.

Aerial view of terraced rice fields with a small hut and a single palm tree, surrounded by lush green forest in tropical Australia.
Aerial view of terraced rice fields with a small hut and a single palm tree, surrounded by lush green forest in tropical Australia.

10 Years of impact

A 114-page commemorative booklet capturing
a decade of TOMAK’s implementation across three Municipalities in Timor-Leste.

The publication brings together extensive field photography developed over several months of documentation, resulting in a highly detailed editorial piece. A dedicated team worked in parallel across design and production, including the creation of a custom iconography system of over 200 icons and a bespoke set of illustrations aligned with the programme’s visual identity and colour framework.

End of Program Booklet

Open magazine featuring a photo of people outdoors, with the focus on a person wearing a purple shirt with the Australian Aid logo, and the text 'TOMAK Partners'. The right page displays several logos, including Australian Aid and others.
Open magazine showing a program snapshot with maps, charts, and icons related to a five-year project in Timor-Leste.
Open magazine showing a photo of people planting crops in a field.
A woman smiling outdoors holding freshly harvested sweet potatoes in a garden with trees and greenery.
Open booklet showing pages about farmer field schools, with text, images of farming activities, and a purple sidebar listing crop and livestock practices.
A woman in blue medical scrubs holding an informational calendar or chart outdoors, with green trees and a building behind her.
Group of people standing outdoors on a grassy area in front of a partly constructed building, some holding shovels, with trees and vegetation in the background.
Line drawing of a heart with a plant inside it, symbolizing love and growth.

Communication concept

From Seeds to Harvest

A narrative system for transformation

“From Seeds to Harvest” is the communication framework developed for the TOMAK 10-Year Programme, translating development results into clear stories of transformation. It was applied across all outputs — from documentary and publication to campaigns and digital content — ensuring a consistent narrative system built around key shifts such as from subsistence to sustainability and from local production to market access.

Two women standing in a lush green garden, holding hands and smiling joyfully.
A lush green hillside farm with trees and cultivated fields, a thatched hut, and mountains partially covered by clouds in the background.

Campaign series

Portraits of progress

A 21-poster campaign highlighting beneficiary stories across themes including inclusion, nutrition, market access, youth participation, disability inclusion, and women’s empowerment.

Developed as part of the “From Seeds to Harvest” narrative framework, the series translates programme outcomes into individual stories of transformation through portrait photography and concise, human-centred storytelling.

Logo featuring geometric star shapes and the words 'tribu branding studio' in lowercase letters.

Across three municipalities, more than 2,500 km and 60 hours in the field shaped this work
defined by close engagement with the people, places, and realities behind TOMAK’s journey.
A privilege to have been part of it.