In 2024, the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance (NAAKPA) hosted cosmetic workshops to link traditional knowledge with modern practices. Supported by Manesa Megan Cosmetics, these workshops explored the potential of using native ingredients like the Kakadu Plum (Mi Marrarl), for creating products like moisturisers and lip balms.
Participants were introduced to techniques for creating plant-based extracts highlighting the value of wild harvesting, circular agriculture, and local resources in producing high-quality, sustainable products.
The workshops were held at the Wadeye Women’s Centre and Thamarrurr Youth. The experience sparked pride and inspiration with the attendees, demonstrating how cultural heritage and natural materials could lead to innovation and enterprise. NAAKPA’s initiative celebrated the land’s beauty while encouraging the community to reimagine its possibilities.
NAAKPA is a non-distributive cooperative, whose members are an alliance of Aboriginal-owned companies who ethically harvest, process and supply Kakadu Plum fruit and extracts for the Australian market. ,
Aboriginal communities have been harvesting and using Kakadu Plum for many millenia as food and medicine. They have acquired detailed knowledge of the plant’s characteristics, and have woven this into their traditional knowledge, generally referred to as Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP).Aboriginal communities in Australia continue to nurture and manage the environment in which Kakadu Plums and other native foods flourish, and are focused on protecting their own food sovereignty. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, Indigenous peoples across the world manage some 80% of the world’s biodiversity and represent 19% of the extremely poor.
Read more at naakpa.com.au
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