A $1.5 million research collaboration between Traditional Owners and Custodians and The University of Queensland is the first Australian collaboration to negotiate for Traditional Owner groups to retain their intellectual property within a Western legal framework.
UQ Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, said the incorporation of contractual arrangements ensures the long-term protection of Indigenous Australians’ traditional knowledge.
"This will empower Traditional Owners and Custodians with greater entrepreneurial freedom to develop, own and grow their bushfood businesses for generations to come," Professor Fredericks said.
“We’re proud to be putting the power in the hands of Traditional Owners and Custodians to develop and own bushfood businesses and support the Indigenous business sector to grow in ways determined by Indigenous peoples.
“The flow-on benefits of greater Indigenous business ownership are significant, as they build family and community wealth, create employment, encourage the uptake of education, increase choice possibilities and open opportunities to engage with a globalised economy.”
The five-year multidisciplinary research collaboration, launched in 2021, sees UQ researchers working closely with three Indigenous communities from across Queensland to identify, document and commercialise native bushfoods and ornamental plants unique to their Custodial Lands which offer new business potential in the food, beverage, and ornamental plant industries.
The project, A Deadly Solution: Combining Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led bushfood industry, is aimed at creating a thriving, Indigenous-led bushfood industry.
It focuses on scientific discovery and product innovation and utilising new technologies to set up critical foundations for capturing knowledge.
Through the development of secure and transparent business practices across the value chain, it aims to protect Traditional Knowledge and create a flourishing Indigenous-led bushfood industry that provides greater economic, cultural, and social benefits for local Indigenous communities.
