Whichway?

Our truth

The Gamilaraay people, and other First Nations peoples across the plains of semi-arid Australia, once managed vast perennial grasslands. Amongst a suite of benefits, such as priceless ecosystem services, these native grasslands also produced edible and nutritious grain that have sustained mind, body, and spirit since time immemorial. 

However, our people have been systemically and systematically dispossessed, disenfranchised and exploited within agribusiness. Furthermore, our systems and structures of governance have been dismantled, making it difficult to equitably negotiate and impossible to self-determine. 

All peoples now exist within this globalised system; a system that relies on domination, homogenisation, extraction and exploitation; a system where, for the few to succeed, the many must fail; a system that is causing the climate crisis, the extinction crisis, and the little acknowledged global crisis that is loss of Indigenous cultures, knowledges, and languages.

We envision a world that is different, a world built on the principles of reciprocity, relationality, responsibility, & respect. We know that Indigenous people's, as the stewards of global biodiversity and holders of time-tested wisdom, can help us move through and beyond our current global crises.

Our Strategic Objectives

Yaamarra & Yarral is a 100% Gamilaraay owned and operated social enterprise dedicated to reawakening the Gamilaraay people's native grain foodways; and increasing First Nations participation in, benefit from, and leadership of, the broader food and agriculture industry. 

We have developed seven streams of research, development and extension (RD&E) strategies and activities, guided by seven pillars of Indigenous self-determination, to see a self-perpetuating, First Nations led, holistically delivered, native grain industry operating within 10 years. Core to our purpose is maintaining authenticity and integrity in the re-emerging native grain industry.

Within the next 10 years we aim to be able to showcase a more resilient, regenerative, reciprocal, respectful and equitable way of producing food and managing Country. In the process of re-awakening our native grain foodways we will also look to advocate, elevate, and work with those in the food and agriculture industry who are aligning with our principles and working towards a better food future. This means that, beyond working with native grains, we will also work with other varieties of cereals, such as ancient and heritage wheat, underutilised grains like millet, and new perennial grain crops like Kernza and Mountain Rye. 

Activating an Industry - Our way

Our Stone Mill project is the first small step to self-determination. With a good supply of native grains sourced from Gamilaraay Country, we entered this space by addressing the biggest R&D gap that the native grain industry faced, the post-harvest processing stage. Gamilaraay people have not forgotten how to process our grains, and based on our cultural knowledge, we innovated a commercially viable process, whilst maintaining our authenticity and integrity. 

We have effectively overcome the processing barrier, but in that time, our farming partners sold their farm and our supply of native grains was plowed into the ground to be replaced with wheat. Ironically, we now have the processing infrastructure, but no supply of native grain. While we don't own land, and Native Title does not allow for economic outcomes, we are working with landholders and university partners to re-establish grain production. 

By activating our native grains industry on Gamilaraay Country, we are starting to develop an industry with a story of provenance. We are interested in creating place-based food systems. Rather than aiming for high input, high output, export-oriented production, we are working to create food systems that care for people, care for Country, build local capacity, and generate integrated and circular economies.

In the meantime, we have made the strategic decision to work with millet. Many important native grains - including guli (Panicum decompositum), the most commonly used grain across Australia - are in the millet family. Commercially grown millet is the closest thing to our native grains we can reliable source, they are also similarly good for County, for people, and for community.