Something Wild is Australia's first Indigenous-owned supplier of game meats and native greens and has gone from strength to strength since former AFL footballer Daniel Motlop had the idea to buy the business back in 2016 .
Speaking at the Ag Excellence Awards dinner last week, Mr Motlop said working as Aboriginal Affairs Advisor for the NT chief minister back in 2015 gave him a good insight into business and economic operations, which provided him with the skills to become a native foods supplier.
"I talked to my brother and my dad and said 'let's buy Something Wild, let's make it Indigenous-owned, let's change the whole branding around it and give people the Australian feel to it with native ingredients'," he said.
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"So we bought the shop and it's grown over the past couple of years, I've tried to put native ingredients into a commercial product while creating jobs for Aboriginal people in communities."
The business sources a wide range of native products such as magpie goose, kakadu plums and green ants, with a focus on being respectful to traditional landowners, and foraging tucker in a sustainable manner.
"Business and culture are very important, trying to separate that or achieve the balance is very hard, but more and more aboriginal people are seeing that there is a market for what they're picking so a lot of people are getting on board," he said.
AG EX REWARDS FEMALE GROUP
Women Together Learning was the recipient of the PIRSA Grower Group Award at the 14th annual Ag Excellence Awards dinner held in Glenelg last week.
The group received the accolade and $5000 for their proposal to build linkages between women that participate in WoTL regional activities and the Stepping Into Leadership Alumni program.
WoTL chair Sharon Honner accepted the award from PIRSA deputy chief executive officer Tim Goodes, and said she was 'very excited' to receive the accolade on behalf of the organisation.
Ms Honner said half of the funds will be used to run a 'Video tips and tools' workshop to be held in June, aiming to give women the skills to enhance themselves on social media platforms.
We want to give them an opportunity to come together and share their learning, their challenges and their wins across industries.
- SHARON HONNER
The rest of the money will be used to fund a bus trip within the Barossa and Adelaide Hills region in the second half of the year, giving women involved in the organisation to meet and network and share their skills and experiences.
"We want to give them an opportunity to come together and share their learning, their challenges and their wins across industries," Ms Honner said.
The Ag Excellence Perpetual Award for outstanding service was won by Michael Richards, who has made a substantial and long-lasting contribution to agriculture and natural resources across the state.
