A MASSIVE hailstorm that annihilated the $30 million Batlow apple crop in 2011 left more than just a trail of destruction - it struck at the heart of the community.
Government and non-government groups rolled into town to provide monetary support and other services for the tight-knit farming community.
The emotional hole that remained after agencies left town caused a small band of women to ponder what support was available for the women, while the farming men were getting much-needed help.
What began as a reference following a town meeting with Department of Primary Industries rural support worker Di Pritchard to find out what the town needed long-term has transformed into Women4Women, a Riverina regional support network that raises money to provide regular retreats and other events.
Di asked the questions around what the community needed to thrive while struggling through a period of adversity.
Tina Billing, the local Country Women's Association president, was asking herself the same questions.
The committee has a background in complementary medicine, including beauty therapy, colour therapy, aromatherapy, tai chi, reflexology and massage.
The first retreat, help in 2013 at the Laurel Hill Forest Lodge in nearby Tumbarumba, attracted 20 participants plus 10 practitioners.
The weekend was supported by the DPI and RAMHP, which funded the main guest speaker, Simone Engdahl.
Tina, the Women4Women committee president, said the aim was to encourage women to think more about their own self care.
"We wanted to help women remember what self care was, as we found most women in this area wouldn't pay for complementary health treatments," she said.
"The momentum grew and grew and in 2014 we had 50 participants and 10 of us practitioners so we restructured the retreat into five groups of 10 participants to give them a taste of all five activities."
Among the instructors were local women such as Susan Newnham, who taught the participants to make aromatherapy creams.
"It was like being in kindergarten again and was very hands-on," she said.
"Everybody was a bit apprehensive at first but they started smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves."
Susan said she was amazed that women in the city were more aware of the need for feeding their inner health.
"Here part of the job is helping people to realise they are more than just a body," she said.
"Women's lives here are different and they have had to cope in a man's world.
"Women tend to see putting an effort into themselves is selfish but they need to give something back to themselves and recharge themselves so they've got something to give their family."
Tina used the analogy of being on an aircraft when parents are advised to take the oxygen for themselves first in an emergency so they can look after everybody else.
June Williams ran early morning sessions in shibashi qigong, "which is the best time to do it".
"I gave them a set of exercises to work on the whole body - from head to the feet - to do at home," Judy said.
Tina had women wrapped in metres of coloured fabric to learn about the psychology of colours and "why certain colours in your wardrobe never get out the door".
Other exercises included drumming, giving yourself permission to make change, and making a memory wall to tap into your inner child.
The 2014 retreat across two nights included eight women from Tarcutta who survived bushfires that nearly wiped out the town just three weeks before.
A few women travelled from Narrandera and Cootamundra too.
"Some people travelled with really heavy care needs or were carers for other people," Tina said.
Participants paid 50 per cent of the costs in the second year, which didn't cause numbers to drop.
Intereach sponsored two women and the local Country Women's Association branch sponsored another.
A change in government after the second retreat resulted in some funding opportunities drying up, but the women are doing their damndest to raise money to run another retreat, hopefully in 2016.
The driving force behind fundraising ideas is treasurer Leanne Bowdler, of Tumbarumba, a school teacher who is training to be a holistic counsellor.
The other women joke they have to reign in her enthusiasm all the time.
In February this year she came up with the idea of a Celebration of Love, a wedding dress parade at the RSL featuring 50 gowns dating back to 1923, modelled by local women.
The public school supplied cupcakes, people dressed for a wedding, and there was a display of hundreds of handbags.
They charged entry and ran raffles and had a heap of sponsors, none of whom turned them down.
"There were 19 of us who took three hours to transform the RSL hall into a wedding reception, plus we had three elders of the community suited up as 'fathers of the bride'," Mrs Billing said.
These men were June's husband Geoff, Tina's husband Ray and the brains behind the town's annual Cider Fest, Harald Tietze.
The group has also held Melbourne Cup lunches and an International Women's Day dinner, which are open to men as well as women.
The latest fundraising idea is a tea towel to sell at local festivals, emblazoned with positive affirmations and their logo.
Last year, at the town's Cider Fest, they sold water at their stand to raise money and their profile.
The Women4Women organising committee members hope their experiences can be passed on to groups in other regions.
It's been a lot of hard work but they've been open to learning about new technology and social media, among other things such as grant writing and appearing on radio and television to advertise their bridal fair.
They have been incorporated into a sub-committee of Tumut Council that covers insurance, publications and posters.
