Indigenous foods pioneer Robert Dann hopes to inspire more First Nations bush food businesses

Broome entrepreneur Robert Dann has big plans for his delectable bush produce. However, first and foremost, the Nyul Nyul man wants to inspire other Indigenous people towards the industry. Mr Dann, born and raised in Broome, owns and operates Bindam Mie, an Indigenous Australian food company centred on the use of wild harvested superfoods and bush remedies from the Kimberley. His current range of products include Ginger Beer, Ice Tea and Syrup, to be used as a liquid sweetener, each using the superfood that is the Boab fruit. Boab fruit, often known as the boab nut, comes from the boab trees in the Kimberley and has a citrus-like flavour. Mr Dann said he came across the idea to use Boab fruit for products when looking for a hole in the market. According to the entrepreneur, this readily available native fruit was once known as a poor man’s food and eaten with sugar as a substitute for porridge. However, after being tested by researchers at Queensland University, the native fruit was revealed to house an assortment of nutrients including vitamin C, potassium and protein. From the seeds within the fruit, Mr Dann extracts an oil which is then used in his products. “It’s actually getting really big right through the Kimberley,” he said. “It is a growing market. We are trying different stuff. “I’ve got many fingers in many different pies to try and see what I can do with the products we have here in the Kimberley.” While the expansion of the business is high on Mr Dann’s agenda, so too is inspiring other Indigenous people in the region. “What I really want to do is empower the Indigenous people right through the Kimberley to actually take back their land and start looking after the country,” he said. “I want to build an industry for Indigenous people to start to grow their own fruits so that they can actually start to do things by themselves.” He has also been engaging with many of the region’s at-risk youth, hoping to show them first-hand the path to success. “What I’m doing now, with the kids (in Broome), I take then out for the whole day and pay them around $120 a day to come and pick fruit with me,” he said. “Some of the kids are actually from broken homes and some are actually in trouble with the law.” Mr Dann is currently working with a chef in Perth to create Boab Coconut Banana Bread and Boab Coconut Caramel, while also working with the NSW Scientist to create soaps using Gubinge (Kakadu Plum).