The Indigenous Food Database is the fundamental reason why The Orana Foundation exists-to preserve Indigenous food knowledge before the Elders who hold that Traditional Knowledge and verbally pass it down through generations disappear.
There were multiple stages we needed to go through to ensure the information in the database was thorough and reputable, the Indigenous Traditional Knowledge was preserved accurately, and that Indigenous intellectual property was protected. Following these development steps we could then handover the database to an Indigenous entity who would be the custodians of the database into the future.
It has always been the Foundation’s intention that the Indigenous Food Database was the collation of information that would be handed over to Indigenous people to decide where to from here. The database could be a multitude of things-it could be a time capsule of food knowledge as verbal handing down of Traditional Knowledge to the next generation slows, it could be a working database that Community Rangers feed into, or it may be that commercialisation of Indigenous foods occurs. These are just some of the potential uses however this is not a decision to be made by The Orana Foundation, it will be made by the most suitable Indigenous entity using their skills and with community consultation. Whether the Indigenous Food Database will be publicly released or not is also a decision that will be made by this Indigenous entity at a time of their choosing.
Research Partner:
The University of Adelaide was contracted by The Orana Foundation to undertake four research projects to assist with the development of native food production, ingredients identification, horticulture and culinary practices for the benefit of remote Indigenous communities. A team of professors,
horticulturalists, anthropologists, botanists, and researchers was built to work on this project.
The four projects were:
- To build a native food database to collate knowledge of Australian plants (native and introduced) that have been used for food by a range of communities,
- To conduct food quality assessment to provide knowledge of the nutritional profile of plants,
- To conduct food processing and flavour assessment to improve knowledge of the specific use and preparation of plant products and derivation of specific ingredients for culinary use,
- To conduct plant production assessment to improve knowledge of the horticultural practices for growing specific ingredient plants and identification of superior landraces that may form the basis of improved plant varieties and better production systems.
Indigenous Food Database:
The Indigenous Food Database was handed over to The Orana Foundation in May 2020 and represents a compilation of knowledge based on existing and new information for Australian plants used by the Indigenous communities of Australia. The database is comprised of thirteen data tables which are associated primarily by taxon. Information has been compiled from published accounts for 1443 taxa, including Indigenous people’s uses of these plants and other accumulated published knowledge.
These data are supplemented by information for some 100 taxa with specific scientific knowledge, primarily from the literature, species bioclimatic envelope outputted as maps and a gastronomy evaluation. The final database represents a unique resource and has significant development potential to support the native food industry in Australia.
The database research and findings were then built into a database interface using Filemaker Pro which allowed for the relevant plug in and search fields to make this a user friendly and intuitive database.
Indigenous Culture and Intellectual Property (ICIP):
Dr Terri Janke and Company were commissioned to assist The Orana Foundation by undertaking a best practice review of the Indigenous Food Database. This includes a best practice audit in line with legal requirements, national and international standards and best practice of the content collected and collated on the database, methods of collection, publication and digitisation of that content and intended use; a preliminary audit of the database in relation to the collection, publication and digitisation of content considering intellectual property and licensing requirements, Indigenous Cultural & Intellectual Property (ICIP) and culturally sensitive material incorporated in content and associated cultural protocol, and ethical research obligations.
Once this audit is complete they will progress to consideration of the requirements for access and use to the database and specific content on the database, categorisation and labelling of content, implementation of appropriate protocols, end user licensing and commercialisation. The will also be a recommendation as to the best practice in managing the data file itself.
Following the completion of the above, Dr Terri Janke and Company will make recommendations on suitable Indigenous entities to be the custodians of the database moving forward.
Indigenous Custodians:
Once the review by Dr Terri Janke and Company has concluded and any recommendations are implemented, we will then be in a position to commence the next stage which is commissioning an independent Indigenous organisation to run the Request For Proposal process to identify the most suitable Indigenous entity to hand over the database to.
This Request For Proposal process process will use Dr Janke’s recommended entities, their own recommendations, as well as publicly posted tender documents to ensure any interested entities can be involved in the process. Part of this Indigenous organisation’s scope of works will include them determining the most suitable Indigenous entity and facilitating the handover of the Indigenous Food Database.
Database Data Fields:
P1 | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
P1–Taxa | taxonRecordID |
P1–Taxa | taxonID |
P1–Taxa | scientificName |
P1–Taxa | canonicalName |
P1–Taxa | commonNames |
P1–Taxa | family |
P1–Taxa | distribution |
P1–Taxa | habit |
P1–Taxa | partsConsumed |
P1–Taxa | Trialled before |
P1–Taxa | Main references |
P1–Taxa | indigenousTermsCount |
P1–Taxa | indigenousUsesCount |
P1–Taxa | Ranking |
P1–Terms | taxonRecordID |
P1–Terms | indigenousTerms |
P1–Terms | languageGroup |
P1–Terms | languageGroupLocation |
P1–Terms | culturalSensitivity |
P1–Terms | culturalSensitivity |
P1–Terms | culturalSensitivityComments |
P1–Terms | IPRequirements |
P1–Terms | IPRequirementsComments |
P1–Uses | taxonRecordID |
P1–Uses | Recipes and preparation |
P1–Uses | Other Information |
P1–Uses | Source |
P1–Uses | culturalSensitivity TK |
P1–Uses | culturalSensitivity |
P1–Uses | culturalSensitivityComments |
P1–Uses | IPRequirements |
P1–Uses | IPRequirementsComments |
P2 | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | taxonRecordID |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | taxonID |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | taxonUncertainty |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | plantPart |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | plantPartTeatment |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | dataType |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | dataAvail |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | minimum |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | maximum |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | sampleNumber |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | average |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | units |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | assay |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | nutritionaInformationComments |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | additionalInfoAvail |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | knowledgeGaps |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | healthBenefits |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | wildHarverstSustainability |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | comments |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | recordCount |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | sourceID |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | nutritionalRanking |
P2–Nutrition Profiles | deliciousnessRating |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | taxonRecordID |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | taxonID |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | taxonUncertainty |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | plantPart |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | ethnomedicinalUse |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | ethnomedicinalUseAustralia |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | ethnomedicinalUseElsewhere |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | comments |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | recordCount |
P2–Ethnomedicinal Use | SourceID |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | taxonRecordID |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | taxonID |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | plantPart |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Compounds Data |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Essential oils |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Alkane hydrocarbons |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Phenolics |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Flavonoids |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Phenols_ Phenolic acids |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Phenolic ketones |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Phenyl_propanoids |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Coumarins |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Quinones |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Lignans |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Tannins |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Terpenoids_Terpenes_Sterols |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Monoterpenes_Monoterpenoids_C10_ |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Sesquiterpenes_Sesquiterpenoids_C15_ |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Diterpenes_Diterpenoids_C20 |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Triterpenes_Triterpenoids_C30_ |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Tetraterpenes_Tetraterpenoids_C40_ |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Sterols |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Saponins |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Fatty Acids |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Alkaloids |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Other nitrogen_containing compounds |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Amines |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Cyanogenic glycosides |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Amino acids_ peptides |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | _Other |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Compounds_Detailed Information |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Compounds_Quantity |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Demonstrated Biological Activity |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_oxidant |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_inflammatory |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_tumour_cancer |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_diabetic |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_hypertension |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_microbial |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_bacterial |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_fungal |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_parasitic |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Anti_viral |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Insecticidal |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Cytotoxicity |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Cytotoxic compounds |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Cholesterol lowering |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Other biological activities |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Compound Comments |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Inferred Biological Activity |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Additional Bioactive Info available _not recorded here_ |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Compound Knowledge Gaps |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | info in congenric species |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | compoundedList |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | recordCount |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | SourceID |
P2–Bioactive Compounds | Bioactive Ranking |
P2–Toxicity | taxonRecordID |
P2–Toxicity | taxonID |
P2–Toxicity | taxonUncertainty |
P2–Toxicity | plantPart |
P2–Toxicity | Toxicity Data Available |
P2–Toxicity | Toxins detected |
P2–Toxicity | Toxic effect |
P2–Toxicity | Toxin inactivation |
P2–Toxicity | comments |
P2–Toxicity | recordCount |
P2–Toxicity | SourceID |
P2–Functional Properties | taxonRecordID |
P2–Functional Properties | taxonID |
P2–Functional Properties | taxonUncertainty |
P2–Functional Properties | plantPart |
P2–Functional Properties | Commercial Processing |
P2–Functional Properties | Functional Properties |
P2–Functional Properties | Pre_biotic |
P2–Functional Properties | Low Glycaemic Index |
P2–Functional Properties | Cholesterol lowering |
P2–Functional Properties | Other properties |
P2–Functional Properties | comments |
P2–Functional Properties | functionalProperty |
P2–Functional Properties | recordCount |
P2–Functional Properties | SourceID |
P2–Commercial Use | taxonRecordID |
P2–Commercial Use | taxonID |
P2–Commercial Use | taxonUncertainty |
P2–Commercial Use | Commercial Availability |
P2–Commercial Use | Products |
P2–Commercial Use | Current use |
P2–Commercial Use | Other potential uses |
P2–Commercial Use | Suppliers |
P2–Commercial Use | recordCount |
P2–Commercial Use | SourceID |
P4 | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | taxonRecordID |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | taxonID |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Plant part |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Plant part treatment |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Similar plant_species data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Similar plant_species |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Common cultivars _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | cultivar names |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Plant growth characteristics _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Growth habit _Trees_ shrubs…_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Life cycle _Annual_perennial_biennial_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time to maturity _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time to maturity _ Age of 1st flowering |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time from planting to harvest |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Flowering information _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Flower information |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Flowering time |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Flowering information _ Pollinators _insect_ wind |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Fruit information _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Fruit information details |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Fruiting seasons |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed type data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed type |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Embryo type data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Embryo type |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Natural growing conditions _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Climate zone |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Regions_Habitat |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | AnualRainfall comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Max |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Min |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Average min |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Annual Rainfall Average max |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Rainfall Sample size Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Rainfall Sample size Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Max |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Min |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Average |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Sample size Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature Sample size Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Temperature ̶ comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil types |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil conditions _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil pH |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil drainage |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil salinity |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil nutrients |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil waterlogging tolerance |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Soil Cation_exchange capacity |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Biotic_abiotic stress data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Tolerant to abiotic stresses |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Resistent to biotic stresses |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Suspcetible to stresses_Diseases |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Proparation methods _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Propagation methods _ general comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Propagation from seed _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Propagation from seed _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed dormancy |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed collection _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed collection _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed collection from wild populations _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Wild Seed collection season |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Wild Seed collection _ Locations _can be State names_ more distinct?_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Wild Seed collection _ comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed collection _ other options |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed collection _ Seed extraction _ cleaning |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed storage _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Storage _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed germination _ Seed Storage Temperature _ Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed germination _ Seed Storage Temperature _ Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed storage _ Viability Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed storage _ Viability Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed storage _ Viability comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination conditions _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Results _ Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Results _ Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time before first germinant observed _ Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time before first germinant observed _ Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time to achieve 50% germination _ Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time to achieve 50% germination _ Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Thermoperiod Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Thermoperiod Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Thermoperiod Time Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Thermoperiod Time Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Photoperiod Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Photoperiod Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Photoperiod Time Unit |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Photoperiod Time Value |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ Medium |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ pre_treatment |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Seed Germination _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Propagation from seed _ Guidelines |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Other propagation methods _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Cuttings _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Cuttings _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Grafting _yes_no |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Grafting _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Tissue culture _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Tissue culture _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Division _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Division _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Cultivation data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Planting_cultivation |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Light |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Irrigation data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Irrigation _ General comments |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Nutrition requirements _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Nutrition requirements _ fertilisers |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Nutrition requirements _ others |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Industry _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Success of previous development trials _y_n_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Reasons for industry success |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Success of previous development trials |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Reasons for industry failure |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Plantation |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production yields |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Plantation Reasons for industry success |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Plantation Reasons for industry failure |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Greenhouse |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Greenhouse Reasons for industry success |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Greenhouse Reasons for industry failure |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Wild harvest |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Wild harvest Reasons for industry success |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Wild harvest Reasons for industry failure |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods _ Additional info |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods Additional info Reasons for industry success |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Production methods Additional info Reasons for industry failure |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Harvest data _yes_no_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Time lines to first harvest |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Harvest method |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Wild Harvest Sustainability |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | _flagCount |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | recordCount |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | sourceID |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Proj 1 Ranking |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Nutritional Ranking |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Deliciousness Rating _JZ_ |
P4–HorticulturalAttrib | Chi’s score |
Sources | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
Sources–Sources | SourcePrimaryKey |
Sources–Sources | SourceID |
Sources–Sources | Author |
Sources–Sources | Year |
Sources–Sources | Title |
Sources–Sources | BriefCiteAuth |
* Full set of fields in EndNote database | |
Images | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
Images–Images | taxonRecordID |
Images–Images | image |
Images–Images | thumbnail |
Images–Images | imageMetadata |
Images–Images | imageFilename |
Images–Images | imageContext |
Images–Images | imageCaption |
Images–Images | imageContributor |
Images–Images | imageLicence |
Images–Images | imageRank |
Images–Images | culturalSensitivity TK |
Images–Images | culturalSensitivity |
Images–Images | culturalSensitivityComments |
Images–Images | IPRequirements |
Images–Images | IPRequirementsComments |
TK Labels | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
TK Labels–TK Labels | name |
TK Labels–TK Labels | type |
TK Labels–TK Labels | abbreviation |
TK Labels–TK Labels | Label text |
TK Labels–TK Labels | Explain |
TK Labels–TK Labels | icon |
Gastronomy | |
Dataset–Table | Field Name |
Gastronomy–Scoring | taxonRecordID |
Gastronomy–Scoring | taxonID |
Gastronomy–Scoring | plantPart |
Gastronomy–Scoring | plantPartNotes |
Gastronomy–Scoring | nonTaxon record |
Gastronomy–Scoring | preparation |
Gastronomy–Scoring | preparationNotes |
Gastronomy–Scoring | data providers |
Gastronomy–Scoring | colour |
Gastronomy–Scoring | colourNotes |
Gastronomy–Scoring | aromaCat |
Gastronomy–Scoring | aromaSubCat |
Gastronomy–Scoring | aromaCat2 |
Gastronomy–Scoring | aromaSubCat2 |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourPrincipal |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourBland |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourBitter |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourSalty |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourSour |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourSweet |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourUmami |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavour2Pungency |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavour2Astringency |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourCat |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourSubCat |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourCat2 |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourSubCat2 |
Gastronomy–Scoring | texture |
Gastronomy–Scoring | texture2 |
Gastronomy–Scoring | aromaExample |
Gastronomy–Scoring | flavourExample |
Gastronomy–Scoring | basicFlavourScoreTotal |