Yilaag Ngura (Rejoicing Land/Country)

Waminda is an Aboriginal women-led community-controlled health organisation providing culturally safe and holistic services to Aboriginal communities. The Sustainable Table Fund is funding the organisation to develop an Indigenous nursery that will grow native food and plants. This collaborative project, led by Indigenous women on the south coast of NSW, pioneers an innovative approach to social, economic and environmental change. It does this by centring Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in regenerative and agroecological systems, reconnecting and connecting Indigenous people to their culture through traditional foods and their cultural stories, and participation in the creation and development of Indigenous-led businesses.

The project’s key objectives are:

• To become sustainable by growing the amount of native food and plants produced in this region, and on selling to markets involved in restoration, rehabilitation, and carbon farming.
• To generate ongoing income as well as job opportunities for Indigenous people and contribute to the viability of Indigenous-led businesses in our communities.
• To foster health and cultural resilience by developing unique food products from our harvests, alongside educational strategies that aim to reduce the harmful impacts of chronic diseases and poor nutrition in our communities; and reconnecting First Nations women to their original food stories.