The Laramba Community

The Laramba community is 220km North –West of Alice Springs on the edge of the Tanami desert. It has a population that fluctuates between 250 and 300 people.

It is characterised by :

• Inadequate education with high levels
  of illiteracy.
• Extremely high unemployment.
• A very corresponding high level of welfare dependence.
• Unacceptably high levels of debilitating health problems including diabetes, cancers, respiratory illnesses, eye and ear infections, and depression.

The Bush Tomato Plantation

Solanum Centrale (bush tomato) is a species native to the region and one familiar to local Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

The Bush Tomato plantation established by
the Foundation currently has 10,000 plants
under cultivation.

The plantation provides ongoing part-time jobs for members of the community to establish, maintain
and harvest the crop.

There is a contractual arrangement to sell the crop
to Robins Foods P/L.

The annual crop is projected to generate an operating surplus beginning in the summer of 2011/12.

The Foundation is grateful for the financial support of the Coles Indigenous Food Fund to establish the Bush Tomato Plantation.