Remote Island Community Combines Tradition and Innovation to Combat Food Insecurity

truwana/Cape Barren Island, a remote Aboriginal community off the coast of Tasmania, is tackling food insecurity through a blend of traditional practices and modern solutions, including a community greenhouse and sustainable harvesting of native foods.

A Unique Island Community

Located off the north-eastern coast of Tasmania, truwana/Cape Barren Island is home to approximately 80 people, the majority of whom are Indigenous. The island is owned and managed by the Aboriginal community. Access to the island relies on a monthly barge for fuel and fresh food, supplemented by deliveries via mail plane three times a week. This remoteness leads to high costs and occasional shortages, particularly of dairy products.

Addressing Food Insecurity

Nationally, over half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in remote areas experience food insecurity, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. To address this challenge, the community on truwana/Cape Barren Island is embracing both new and time-honored approaches to food access.

The Community Greenhouse

In 2023, the Cape Barren Island Aboriginal Association partnered with Primary Health Tasmania to establish a community greenhouse. Overseen by Tessa Atto, the island’s health and programs coordinator, the greenhouse provides a year-round source of fresh produce for residents. Produce from the greenhouse is freely available to community members at the island’s shop.

“We’ve also got some community garden beds where people can just come in and grow their own stuff,” Atto said. The greenhouse has not only improved access to fresh produce but has also diversified the diets of island residents, with recent additions like bok choy proving popular.

Honoring Traditional Food Sources

Alongside the greenhouse, the community continues to rely on traditional food sources. Seafood is harvested through various methods, including fishing lines, traps and spearfishing. The islands of Bass Strait are also home to rookeries of mutton birds (yula), a culturally and nutritionally significant food source.

Aaron Maynard, chair of the Cape Barren Island Aboriginal Association, emphasizes the importance of sustainable harvesting practices. “There are probably 2 million birds on our island, and we might take under 100,000,” he said. He highlights that traditional foods are not only vital for food security but also for preserving Culture. “It’s a main food source, but it’s [also] the number one Culture that we’ve never had taken off us,” Maynard said.

A Holistic Approach

The community’s approach to food security is rooted in a holistic understanding of wellbeing. Atto notes the educational benefits of the greenhouse, stating, “The holistic approach of learning from scratch, the cycle of getting a seed and watching it grow, that whole learning cycle is amazing for people to have the opportunity to participate in.”

Kathryn Longey is the Cape Barren Island Aboriginal Association CEO and shop attendant.