The Noongar Land Enterprise Group (NLE) has completed the first phase of its Avondale Bush Food Innovation Hub, achieving major milestones in building a Noongar-led wattle seed enterprise and setting the stage for commercial product launches.
Running from October 2022 to October 2023, and funded through the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (SW WA Hub), the project set out to expand research, grow harvests and develop food-grade products.
It has now positioned NLE as the first Noongar organisation to produce wattle seed in commercial quantities that meet food safety standards.
NLE chief executive officer Alan Beattie said the project showed what could be achieved in a short time with strong collaboration and clear goals.
“In just 12 months, we’ve gone from concept to capability,” Mr Beattie said. “We can now harvest, clean, roast and grind wattle seed to food-grade quality - ready for households, hospitality and the wider market. “That’s a huge step forward for Noongar-led bush food enterprises.”
A key part of the project was testing of six different wattle seed species.
Samples were sent to Agrifood Technology in Victoria for analysis, helping NLE better understand the nutritional properties of the seeds and identify which species offered the most potential for commercial harvesting.
Low-cost processing technology was also trialled, successfully producing roasted and ground wattle seed of food-grade quality at a smaller commercial scale.
“The testing confirmed what we already knew - that wattle seed has enormous potential as a food ingredient,” Mr Beattie said. “It also gave us the science we need to focus our efforts and build a supply chain that works.”
The project also supported branding and market preparation.
Working with the Hypnosis Creative Agency, NLE developed and tested packaging mock-ups, with feedback provided by members, staff and the board.
The final branding design was endorsed and will be launched alongside NLE’s first wattle seed products in 2024.
“The brand reflects what makes our products unique - authenticity, provenance, and 100 per cent First Nations ownership,” Mr Beattie said. “It’s about telling the story of where these foods come from and the communities behind them.”
On country, the project enabled an expanded harvest of Acacia acuminata in late 2022 and early 2023, a species traditionally harvested by Noongar people.
Harvests took place in northern Noongar country and at Avondale Park, near Beverley, with around half a tonne of raw seed collected.
This harvest confirmed the potential for commercial-scale production while maintaining cultural connection to traditional foods.
“The fact that we can now produce raw, roasted and ground wattle seed in commercial quantities is a turning point,” Mr Beattie said. “For the first time, Noongar people are leading the production of food-grade wattle seed, and that’s something to be proud of.”
Support from partners including Commonland, Wide Open Agriculture and Dirty Clean Food also helped pave the way for new bush food and beverage products to enter the market.
Mr Beattie said the partnerships would be crucial as NLE looked to the future.
“This project is just the beginning,” he said. “We now have the capability and the branding to take the next step - developing transformative products that can reach both Australian and international consumers.”
