Human beings need each other for their continued existence, both as individuals and as a species; moreover, without continued existence, they can not attain perfection: whereby it follows that they need each other precisely in order to attain perfection. Thus, the perfection, the completion of each individual, depends on other individuals of the species, and thus man must have intercourse and association with the sons of men, based on mutual assistance. Without this, he will stray from the way of justice and fall into inequity. [Nasir al-Din Tusi, 1300] ********** INTRODUCTION This quotation represents the thoughts of an Iranian philosopher from the 13th century and refers to the community as a means for one's existence leading ultimately to excellence, justice, and equity. The notion of community is therefore more than just the sum of individuals striving for certain goals and objectives. It is a way of life which brings about harmony, balance, and perfection in life. The aim of this article is to describe two community development metaphors and how they are practiced at Yooroang Garang: School of Indigenous Health Studies, an educational institution of higher education in Australia. The models have developed through collaborative work with Australia's indigenous people over many years. Both Ways Education, described by Yunupingu (1993), involves an ongoing collaborative process between the teacher and the learner through a continuous educational discourse. This discourse leads to clarification and extension of cultural knowledge from both the western and Australian indigenous world views, which are mutually recognized and shared in the classroom. Both Ways Education has been used to develop the metaphors presented in this article. The explanation of certain aspects of these metaphors are common to western models of community development (Capra, 1982). The unique aspect described in this article, however, has to do with the way these models can be used to enhance one's understanding of the concept of community development. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] THE TREE This metaphor has been chosen to represent community development; to Aboriginal people, the tree represents the relationship of land to the outside world. The tree is significant as an important source of food and shelter for Aboriginal people. The tree is introduced to students on posters during lectures by comparing different parts of the tree to different parts of the community development process. The land has a deep and significant place in the lives of Australia's indigenous communities. Aboriginal people believe that their spiritual ancestors created the world. The activities of these ancestors created the mountains, rivers, animals, plants, and trees (Horton, 1994). Land is understood as mother, which each person has a responsibility to care for and protect. Aboriginal people see themselves as ... part of the symbolic continuum of the landscape (Tacy, 1995, p. 14). This means that community development can only proceed when there is a deep respect for the land since people are so integrally connected to that land. Roots are the foundation of a tree. They penetrate through the soil, giving strength to the tree. The roots act as a source of energy; roots nurture the tree and facilitate growth. In this model the roots represent every community development project's connection to the land and its people. The community development worker plants seeds that develop into roots, which connect the project to the indigenous community. It often takes a long time to establish a project in the community through collaboration and cooperation. Community control and ownership of the process is paramount to the success of the project and the strength of the connections. The survival of the project depends on the time and energy the worker puts into developing these connections. If the established roots into the community are too shallow, thin, and inappropriate, then there is a significant chance of the project being derailed. …