Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation
Family • Culture • Land • Future
Providing measurable impact on the quality-of-life within the communities we serve.
The Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation's (BAC) ancestral footprint lies within in the Great Southern Region, from Katanning to Esperance. By working with our local Elders, we aim to document our rich cultural heritage, revive our Noongar language and strengthen our connection to country by passing down the knowledge to future generations of Noongar children. This process ensures our cultural safety protocols are followed on-country.
As a new and emerging Noongar group our objective is to become the leader in sustainable business enterprises in the Great Southern region. We aim to provide employment and training opportunities for local Noongar people in conservation and land management, bush foods, seed collecting and cultural heritage tours through capacity building partnerships with mainstream organisations and private enterprises.
Our Values
We will demonstrate our management practices and stakeholder relations to the broader community by living the following values:
Respect
For our people, our land, our culture and traditions
Inclusion
Ensuring that programs are directed to the disadvantaged and excluded.
Empowermen
Building the skills and capabilities of individuals and families.
Integrity
Ensuring transparency and accountability for our programs and actions.
Responsibility
Providing strong leadership and sound cultural advice to community.
Collaboration
Working in partnership with all our stakeholders.
Our History
We have a huge impact on the quality-of-life in the communities we serve.
In 2012 members of the community became alarmed…
at the social and economic indicators of wellbeing for Aboriginal people arising from reports such as the Great Southern Health Profile and Australian Bureau of Statistics. The distribution of Socio-Economic Indexes for areas of relative disadvantage highlighted Katanning and Tambellup as areas of great disadvantage.
In May 2012, members agreed to re-register the Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) to build capacity in the region. A new Board of Directors was appointed to develop a 5-year action plan for positive change. The Wagyl Kaip Working Party endorsed BAC's vision to build capacity in Katanning and the central Great Southern region.
From small seeds…
BAC members were key drivers behind the Katanning Community Engagement, Leadership and Governance Project in 2014/15. The outcomes of project, funded by Prime Minister & Cabinet and teh Shire of Katanning led to the establishment of the Katanning Noongar Leadership group as the key cultural advisors for community engagement and planning.
BAC vision was to establish Employment and Training pathways in the Central Great Southern for Aboriginal people while strengthening community and culture. A on-country Cultural and Training Hub was the original focus. In 2016, the Great Southern Development Corporation and the Indigenous Land Corporation jointly funded the business planning and extensive community engagement process to develop community priorities and the business case for training and economic development programs in the Central Great Southern from 2017-2022.
BAC was successful in obtaining an establishment grant from the Noongar Charitable Trust in 2018 which enabled the corporation to employ a Project and Partnership Manager for 12 months to implement the first phase of the BAC Business Plan by developing new partnerships with the Aboriginal organisations and communities, government agencies, not-for-profit organisations and philanthropic stakeholders.
…big things continue to grow
The community engagementprocess identified land enterprises as the vehicle to achieve the vision of on-country employment and training for Aboriginal people and focused on conservation and land management, horticulture, bush foods and cultural heritage.
The Ngoolark Rangers were established in 2018 through a capacity building partnership with Greening Australia and in 2019 Gnowangerup Aboriginal Corporation Rangers joined forces with the Badgebup Rangers to successfully complete a number of projects in teh GReat Southern and Wheatbelt areas. The partnership had immediate effect on the social and emotional wellbeing of local youths in the region.