Final preparations are underway for the first intake of trainees to do training through our Bush Tucker Project!
Due to start on the 25th of July 2019, the start of semester 2, up to five indigenous people will embark on a 6 month journey through the Certificate II in Horticulture. Delivered through South Regional TAFE, the students will be doing their learning based around the bush food industry, with hands-on experiences at Badgebup.
The Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation are managing the students who will enroll in this course, and also the 2020 and 2021 intakes. They're going to provide mentoring support, assist them to develop job-ready skills and attitudes, and spend time with elders on-country.
An objective of our National Landcare Program funded project is to expand the total area of production of bush foods, particularly through training and supporting other broadacre farmers with saline land to diversify into this industry (farmers - watch out for the training package opportunity in late 2021!). And those new production locations are going to need skilled and experienced workers - just like the sort of people who will have completed this bush-foods focussed Horticulture certificate!
Our project is aiming to cover the entire paddock to plate supply chain. That's why we're not only looking at growing the food 'in the middle' of the system. We're growing the marketing and customer base at the 'plate' end - and also making sure there are the skills there to establish new parts of the 'paddock' too.