• Participant in Charles Sturt’s inaugural Indigenous
  Entrepreneur Program is connecting his mob with Country through native
  ingredients
• Bush to Bowl benefit from the program through
  networking opportunities and by building on its existing strengths
• The Indigenous Entrepreneur Scale Up Program is an
  initiative between Charles Sturt and Food Futures

A First Nations business is connecting mob with Country and increasing Aboriginal ownership in the bush food industry through skills learned during a Charles Sturt University initiative.

Mr Clarence Bruinsma (pictured) is a proud Yaegl man from Maclean now living in Terry Hills, NSW.

He and his business partner, Garigal/Gadigal man Mr Adam Byrne, are the founders of social enterprise Bush to Bowl.

They were both also participants in the Charles Sturt Innovation
Hub and Food Futures’ inaugural Indigenous
Entrepreneur Program earlier this year.

Bush to Bowl is a 100 per cent First Nations-owned business aimed at increasing Aboriginal ownership in the bush food industry while increasing broader community engagement with traditional food and cultures.

“It came from two fellas’ love of Mother Earth and our native plants and wanting to bring more people closer to this space,” Mr Bruinsma said.

“We realise many mob lacked this knowledge and we wanted to help them learn and build our native food sovereignty while creating great career and economic opportunities for mob.”

Mr Bruinsma wanted to help connect First Nations people with their traditional and native foods while meeting a growing industry demand and caring for Country.

In light of World Food Day recently, he said more people are needed to support First Nations businesses.

He believes the focus should be on Country, and not profit, giving food more meaning and securing the industry for generations to come.

“Selecting mob for their natives plants and foods has more than an impact just on that business, but it supports the economic, health and well-being for mob while we get to work on our Country caring for Mother,” he said.

“Through our knowledge of and ways of working with Country, we can help people grow better crops and think ‘Country first’.”

He said for every dollar spent with a First Nations food business, 65 cents goes into the community, making each bite not only delicious but also meaningful.

Mr Bruinsma said participating in the Indigenous Entrepreneur Program allowed him and Mr Byrne to build their skills and abilities to run an efficient business while rolling out new products.

They were able to increase their skills but said the most valuable outcome was the connections and networking opportunities.

The second iteration of the program, the Indigenous Entrepreneur
Scale Up Program, is currently underway.

Participants will attend a week-long boot camp from Monday 6 to Friday 10 November in Wagga Wagga. The program will culminate with a showcase event in February 2024 in Wagga Wagga.