The Minister for Regional Development, Honourable Don Punch was in Kalgoorlie-Boulder recently to announce the WA Government’s $280,000 contribution to the Aboriginal Sandalwood Industry Capability Program, alongside $320,000 funding from the Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund for Farm Business Resilience.
The announcement took place during a tour of the Dutjahn Sandalwood Oil Distillery with members of the WA Sandalwood Advisory Group who are on a regional visit to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
The funding will support increased Aboriginal leadership in Western Australia’s wild harvest sandalwood industry through a new three-year program to build capacity and diversify land management practice.
The program will be delivered through a partnership with Aboriginal-led not-for-profit organisation the K Farmer Dutjahn Foundation to empower current and future sandalwood custodians. This partnership will deliver tailored tools, materials and capability training to increase supply chain involvement across the sandalwood resource area, which stretches across the Goldfields, Murchison and Central Desert communities of the southern Pilbara.