Before selling game meats and native produce through his family business Something Wild, part-owner and General Manager Daniel Motlop was playing a different game – lining up in the AFL for North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.

But when he retired from football, Daniel was looking for a career change that could embrace his love of native ingredients, which led to Something Wild being established in 2016.

The ethos behind Something Wild was to promote the ethical and sustainable use of native Australian ingredients, Daniel said, but also to provide employment and training opportunities for First Nations people.

“The most disappointing thing about the native food industry is that it is an $80 million industry, but only two to three per cent is made up of First Nations harvesters, growers, and business owners,” he said.

“What we try to do is get more Aboriginal people involved – they know the land better and when they can harvest without overharvesting.

“As a Larrakia man from Darwin and working on Kaurna, Narungga, and Ngarrindjeri country in South Australia, among other places, I have learnt from traditional owners about the native foods from these regions and have a great friendship with a lot of the Aboriginal families that live here.”

 

 

With a dedicated First Nations Procurement Standard, AnglicareSA is committed to developing partnerships with First Nations-owned businesses like Something Wild to support self-determination and recognise their contribution and innovation.

Daniel said AnglicareSA’s year-round support of Something Wild helped showcase native foods in a genuine way.

“We are not just a NAIDOC Week or National Reconciliation Week business – we offer so much more than that,” Daniel said.

“It’s great that organisations like AnglicareSA order all year round, as it helps showcase our business, express our culture, and normalise native foods.”

Native foods showcased by the business include red bush apples, native greens, kangaroo, magpie goose, Kakadu plums, and green ants.

Daniel said that Something Wild was about more than what was served on a plate – it was about opening a conversation about native foods and First Nations culture.

“I think food opens up doors to conversation and teaching people and the next generation about the beautiful culture that we have right on our doorstep,” he said.

“A big part of what we do is just teaching the provenance of places that things come from, and sharing where we are from, which is Larrakia country.

“I think the best learning is being out with traditional owners and people, because you can taste and touch our food, but you can’t really feel it until you are in the bush and learning about the native ingredients.”