Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance

The Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance Cooperative (NAAKPA) is working with Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to introduce gubinge growers to xray fluorescence (XRF) technology to determine the provenance (geographic location) of gubinge samples. It is a portable scanning unit which can plug into a laptop. This technology can be applied to gubinge growers and harvesters, conservation managers, regulators and other agricultural producers. ANSTO has develop the technology for applications in the seafood sector.

NAAKPA & ANSTO will run a demonstration workshop in Broome, on January 21, 2025 from 9:00am until 12:30pm at Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa Cultural Wellbeing Centre, (Yawuru), Reid St, Broome.

The demonstration workshop is free to attend, however, we ask participants to register. For more information and registration:

Indigenous Bushfoods Provenance Technology Demonstration workshop showing how portable xray fluorescence technology can be used to develop elemental fingerprints for gubinge.

A team from the National Measurement Institute recently visited Mamabulanjin’s Fruit Farm as part of an initiative to build plant breeding capacity for Indigenous growers. The project has been made possible by the Climate Smart Agriculture grant through the Natural Heritage Trust managed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and is part of a suite of initiatives to build capacity for Indigenous bushfood producers across northern Australia over the next two years.
More info:

Tissue lab on native farm | Naakpa A team from the National Measurement Institute recently visited Mamabulanjin’s Fruit Farm as part of an initiative to build plant breeding capacity for Indigenous growers. The project has been made possible by the Climate Smart Agriculture grant through the Natural Heritage Trust managed by the De...

NAAKPA delivered two cosmetic workshops in Wadeye in September, one for the Wadeye Women’s Centre and a second for Thamarrurr Youth. It was an opportunity for participants to learn some of the basic features of cosmetic formulation as well as try out cosmetic products.

Cosmetic workshops | Naakpa

Observing insects in Kakadu National Park. Entomologists workshops which involved going out into the field to photograph insects visiting Kakadu plum trees and other bushfoods and recording them onto a database managed by MyPestGuide. The workshops also showed participants how to collect, observe and preserve insect specimens for further study. Further information.

In late 2023 NAAKPA launched its insect identification project for Aboriginal bushfood producers in Broome and Jabiru, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Biosecurity) with workshops to come in 2024 in Wadeye and Maningrida.
The objective of the workshops is to build a network of bushfood producers monitoring insects visiting kakadu plum trees as well as other bushfood producing trees. As many NAAKPA members operate on remote homelands, in areas with high levels of unique biodiversity, having an understanding of insect monitoring and collection from a western perspective builds on the knowledge many Aboriginal people and rangers have of their environment and contextualises it into mainstream science knowledge.
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For more information on NAAKPA projects: https://buff.ly/4aSPwv8

Traditional Owners from Wadeye and Maningrida visited the Berrimah Farm Science Precinct to see stingless native bee hives research horticulturalists are using for rambutan pollination. https://naakpa.com.au/traditional-owners-visit-berrimah-science-precinct

NAAKPA participated in an IP Australia Expert Reference Group to discuss whether disclosure requirements for genetic resources and traditional knowledge should be considered for patent and Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) applications. The workshop included a number of specialists in the field of IP law along with researchers as well as traditional owners. https://naakpa.com.au/disclosure-requirements-for-traditional-knowledge-and-genetic-resources

The Gubinge harvest season is approaching with many Gubinge trees in Western Australia already flowering in what promises to be a productive harvest season for the beginning of 2021. https://naakpa.com.au/gubinge-harvest-season-approaching

Traditional Owners from Wadeye and Maningrida met in early October to discuss how they could consolidate and build an Indigenous lead supply chain for Kakadu plums out of the Northern Territory. The Kakadu Plum is a small fruit endemic to Northern Australia with a lot of interest in the nutraceutical and cosmetics sector both in Australia and overseas. https://naakpa.com.au/traditional-owners-come-together-to-consolidate-indigenous-kakadu-plum-supply-chains-in-the-nt-

NAAKPA coordinated a native bee workshop in Broome in early October, attended by four Western Australian enterprises, Lombadina AC, Mamabulanjin AC, Mayi Harvest and Mercedes Cove AC, to learn about native bees, how to identify them in the bush and how to care for them.Read more at: https://naakpa.com.au/native-bees-and-gubinge

The Northern Australia Kakadu Plum Alliance consists of eight Aboriginal Corporations harvesting kakadu Plum from Traditional homelands across northern Australia. These groups have come together to support Indigenous bushfoods supply chains, provide adovocacy on issues such as as protecting traditional knowledge, sustainable and ethic harvesting.

Kakadu plum yoghurt in Tokyo supermarkets.