A chance encounter at a Northern Beaches Aboriginal meet up has led to establishing a social enterprise that gives back to Country, creates a healing space and platform for Aboriginal people and supplies native foods around the country.

This is the story of Bush to Bowl, a 100 percent Aboriginal owned company by Clarence Bruinsma (Yaegl, mid-north coast NSW) and Adam Byrne (Garigal, Sydney).

A former physical education teacher, Mr Bruinsma has always been interested in health and wellness. When he met Adam Byrne in April 2019, a landscaper, they quickly bonded over a shared passion of native plants, food and caring for Country.

"We were discussing plants, people, connecting more to Country and getting people connected through plants, particularly Aboriginal bush foods, and it went from there," Mr Bruinsma said.

Bush to Bowl not only grows native plants and sells fresh, frozen, dried and powdered bush foods, it also runs workshops, offers bush tucker landscaping services and teaches other Indigenous people how to do it, too.

"We've helped mob across the country – NSW, SA, Tassie – if they want to get into the industry, then I'll help them – I can teach them how to grow plants, what plants they should be growing depending on where they are, how to set up a business, how and where to sell products, packaging, document templates, everything and anything they need," he said.

"It's important to help our people get into the industry because only two percent of native food businesses in Australia are owned by Aboriginal people, and we are stronger as a collective."

Remarkably, Mr Bruinsma generously shares his wealth of knowledge without asking for anything in return.

"If I can, I'll send them their first plants at cost to help them get started, we probably don't make the money that we could because of it, but it's important, because it can help the socio-economic development of Aboriginal people."

Mr Bruinsma said that CommBank gave them their big break two years ago.

"It wasn't a loan or anything like that, it was an order, and the promise of consistent weekly orders," Mr Bruinsma said.

"CommBank has its own internal catering for staff dining and client meetings. A friend of a friend knew someone there, then CommBank's Executive Chef, Lee Hardy, visited our nursery and we showed him what we were growing, he put in an order, and it went from there."

Mr Hardy commented on the benefits of sustainably farmed bush foods.

"At CommBank, we've long used native ingredients in the kitchen and wanted to expand our culinary experiences to include more foraged and locally grown produce. Meeting Adam Byrne and witnessing the incredible work by Bush to Bowl has allowed us to adapt our menus to seasonal conditions and improve the quality of produce we serve every day in our internal cafes as well as part of our Client Services hospitality. This collaboration is about coming to the table as a country and embracing the multiculturalism of our land through traditional foods."

CommBank, Deloitte, Blackmores, Mirvac and other corporations have visited the Bush to Bowl nursery at times once a month as part of their staff wellness programs.

"They enjoy it, and we enjoy it too. I spend time with them telling them stories about different bush foods, sharing food, talking about healing Country, and they help us by working with us for the day, helping build gardens, grow plants, putting time into the nursey," Mr Bruinsma said.

"Healing Country, by connecting people to Country, gives them passion for looking after Country, which creates socio-economic development for Aboriginal people through the native food industry, where they are connecting with their culture and working with other Aboriginal people in a culturally safe space, every day. That's what gets me out of bed every morning."

For more information, visit bushtobowl.com.