Merentj Bushfoods

The wider benefits of bushfoods

The Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) is engaged in Bushfood enterprises to achieve outcomes in strengthening culture and delivering improvements in economic and social wellbeing of Aboriginal communities in the Great Southern region.

Bushfoods are one of the few enterprises that harnesses Aboriginal traditional knowledge and expertise, which combined with commercial and scientific skills, can produce an innovative opportunity to create on-country training that leads to local employment opportunities.

Building capacity

BAC has developed a Bushfoods Hub model that is about the capacity building of Aboriginal individuals, families and communities. It is cognisant of the links between economic development and the improvement in the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal people. 

For example, having employment on-country will provide incentives for individuals by identifying family structures, reconnecting them to country through storytelling and giving back to their family through income derived from land-based enterprises.

The Hub model brings the "coalitions of expertise" and "go-to-market" capabilities to support other Aboriginal community groups and corporations in the Southwest to engage as growers or suppliers. The Model, including training modules and individual engagement and support strategies can be replicated in other regions.

Bushfoods is an emerging industry and comes with economic opportunities with rising demand and strong markets for services and products in the community and throughout Australia. The enterprise will attract collaborative partnerships with local business and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders. These enterprises will support dynamic and sustainable growth of the economy and local communities in the medium to long-term.

In 2018/19, the BAC implemented the following processes in preparation for the launch of the Merentj Bushfoods Program:

1. Trained the Ngoolark Rangers in hand and seed planting of saltbush and several other species outside of SFP;
2. Identified the key principles for ethical Bushfood enterprises (see attachment i)
3. To develop the Mentors for the students in 2020 (6 Aboriginal people are currently in training);
4. Registered MERENTJ as our business name;
5. Identified potential bushfoods for commercialization, both saline and fresh water;
6. Established initial partnerships with Agri-science businesses;
7. Established initial partnerships with hospitality and tourism bodies;
8. Established partnerships with sales, marketing and branding experts;
9. Developed foundations for cultural protocols, governance and decision-making with local Aboriginal Elders and leaders;
10. Identified strategies with the Indigenous Land and Sea Council (ILSC) and National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to either purchase or lease land to set up a Bushfoods Hub.
11. In the process of developing partnerships with Katanning Senior High School to develop work experience opportunities and develop on-country employment pathways for students at KSHS targeting Aboriginal youth

Service & innovation

Merentj Bushfoods enterprises offer opportunities for knowledge-intensive services and innovation. Our objective is to make productive and sustainable use of degraded saline land using traditional knowledge, whilst still contributing to global food supplies. We have a long-term sustainability objective to supply training for farmers and traditional owners in the techniques developed.

Looking further ahead

BAC has identified various plants that provide nutritional and medicinal benefits and in its partnership-discussions is looking into partnerships, processes and legal issues in researching and developing bush foods. These partnerships are geared toward the involvement of a university-level research body, pharmaceutical business, food and hospitality businesses and nutrition and health experts.

By collaborating with environmental experts and scientific groups, the Merentj Bushfood enterprises will be developed with detailed knowledge of local flora, fauna and environmental systems which can also support knowledge and innovation in sustainable agriculture and horticultural practices.