THE Napranum farm has been given a new lease on life thanks to a flourishing partnership between Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council, the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) and Community Owned Enterprises (COE).
Ten Napranum locals have secured paid traineeships through a Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative to re-establish a community garden on the 22-acre farm over the next six months.
They will also undertake conservation and land management training to supplement the skills learnt preparing and running the farm.
Led by farm supervisor Frank Sigai and mentored by the Napranum-based Na’Muk’A’Run Mob, the trainees have already been busy preparing the shed and greenhouse areas, which had fallen into disrepair, as well as clearing the property of weeds, overgrown vegetation and refuse.
Initial plans are to grow staple crops such as taro, papaya, watermelon and bananas for the Napranum community.
The farm will also trial growing native plants to explore both local and national opportunities successful plantings may afford.
Through an invitation from the Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council, COE coordinated a farm summit in Weipa.
Stakeholders representing both federal and state governments, local council, agribusiness and agricultural academia sector, and the Western Cape community, met to discuss options for the continuation of the farm beyond the SQW project completion.
Farm tours alongside the forum allowed visiting stakeholders, including DESBT’s regional director Grant Stidiford, an opportunity to see the project in its early stage .
The forum opened discussions between potential funding bodies and enterprise support.
