Launched in August 2011, this represents the first step in the long-term development of a one-stop web portal for primary industries resources for schools, teachers and the broader community. The first 50-60 resources currently on the site will be supplemented by additional resources and filtering mechanisms over the next 9-12 months.

The resources will also be searchable according to the Australian Curriculum once the curriculum has been ‘signed off’ by the Ministers for Education.

The Jimmy Little Foundation ThumbsUp! Good Tucker, Long Life! program, in conjunction with the Northern Territory Department of Education have developed and launched a great new series of educational resources for primary school teachers to assist them with health and nutrition education. Launched on August 15, the suite of resources is available online – and promises to be really useful for anyone involved in health and nutrition education for kids (and grown ups!).

To access the resources you need to register online. Go to:

http://www.thumbsup.org.au/index.php

As one element of this new program, Woolworths is providing $150,000 of funding towards a grants program to help farming groups develop or implement sustainable farming practices. Grants of up to $10,000 are available to farming groups and organisations across Australia.

Guidelines, criteria and application forms can be found on the Landcare Australia website.

“Hello, I am aware that several aboriginal communities in the NT, and perhaps elsewhere, are well advanced in their efforts to (a) construct hives,  (b) set up hives, and (c) produce honey.  It would be nice to hear how successful they have been, what  issues and problems they have faced, and how they have overcome the latter”.

We’ll be featuring stories about hydroponics and aquaponics projects in a special edition of RIG News later this year – please get in touch and tell us about your projects, or plans for similar projects. We’re keen to hear whats underway, what has and hasn’t worked, cost, community involvement etc!!

Numbulwar currently have a good project underway (thanks Alice for sending the link!). To read about it and access a video on the project visit the Closing the Gap portal by clicking  here

“The hot climate and sandy soil of Numbulwar, on the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory, makes it difficult to grow fruit and vegetables. The Homelands Resource Centre hopes to lead the way in hydroponic gardening to enable people in the community to grow their own fruit and vegetables – year round”. Check out the story and the video.

Respecting local knowledge, ownership of knowledge and understanding and respecting ‘rights’ to know and to use is critical  - as is knowledge about key legal, regulatory and product development issues, so that the great products communities develop are ‘fit’ and ok for sale. Recently we’ve heard about some great new resources and an existing WA program that you and your communities might like to access to help work through key issues that need to be considered in the process. The Therapeutic Goods Act can pose some challenges – especially for bush medicine products and their sale. Below are some resources and key contacts you might like to follow up:

Aboriginal Bush Traders Bush Harvest Project  - have developed three valuable information booklets:

1.  Knowing your rights to your Aboriginal Plant Knowledge - provides Aboriginal knowledge holders with an overview of what people need to consider when developing plant based products.

2. An Analysis of Indigenous Body Products and Markets

3. A Support Manual - includes detailed information in regard to product development, legislative requirements, labelling and quality control.

For more information, or to obtain copies – contact: bushharvest@aboriginalbushtraders.com

The CRC for Remote Economic Participation are doing valuable work around the use of bush foods – building on past work on bush tomato value chains.

This work includes a strong focus on appropriate cultural protocols and ethics. Visit their website to learn more and get in touch.

The WA project offers workshops (1 day) and are free to communities.  Host communities need to be able to cover travel and accommodation, and provide a venue. Workshops are faciliated with input lawyers and scientists in relevant fields as expert backup. The project is an outcome of a grant from the Law Society of WA to research and write a series of legal fact sheets on topics nominated by Aboriginal people taking part in WA workshops.  These fact sheets are now on the Marr Mooditj Training website http://marrmooditj.com.au Under Links and Useful Information.  For further information: Jenna Zed, Burrany Bunitj, jennaz [@] iinet.net.au

Best Practice and New Opportunities – Local Food Gardens, Food Systems and Horticulture

Over 70 people from CDEP organisations, industry, NGOs, health groups and communities attended the CDEP food gardens workshop held recently in Darwin. Thanks to everyone who attended and presented, and for the many great ideas and suggestions for next steps to get things growing.

To review the program, read the report, and download presentations visit the new  ”Workshop”  section under Useful Resources here on the RIG site (we’re working on it!).

Highlights included inspiring presentations by John Paterson, CEO AMSANT, and Dr Tom Calma along with great stories – the good and the bad – from CDEP food garden and horticulture projects, and leading NGO programs including  Jimmy Little Foundation, Thumbs Up! program, Really Cooking Good Food Cookbook, Fred Hollows Foundation and more.

The workshop was made possible with support from Darwin Regional Indigenous Advancement and CDEP Inc., and was a joint initiative of the Darwin ICC Regional CDEP Network and the RIG Network.