Horticulture

Horticultural work was also a part of the Land Management unit which operated out of the Pitjantjatjara Council Resource Centre based in Alice Springs. The first stimulus for this work came from watching Aboriginal shepherds in sheep camps at Ernabella grow water melons and tomatoes in small enclosures at the watering points where they lived for periods of 3 to 6 months (late 60's). These shepherds yarded the sheep every evening to protect them from dingo attack. Working in a sheep camp allowed Aboriginal people the opportunity to pursue many of their traditional activities while shepherding the sheep.

The second stimulus came from the housing program mentioned in the re-afforestation section. A major garden project was undertaken which operated for a number of years before being absorbed and re-appearing in the form of homeland and house gardens. A feature of the garden project was the use of "Drip" or "Trickle" irrigation over the total area of two hectares which included a small vine yard (table grapes).

Major garden project undertaken at Ernabella in South Australia

In the late 70's and early 80's every community had its own homelands movement which created a demand for fruit trees and vines, vegetable seeds and a variety of plants. The need to develop arid zone horticultural practices was urgent as gardens were very popular and growing in number.

In 1978 and 1979 two very successful horticultural workshops were conducted at Ernabella and Aboriginal people came from as far away as Blackstone in Western Australia and Yuendumu in the Northern Territory. As part of the Land Management unit in Alice Springs, a Homelands Resource Centre was established around the Pitjantjatjara Council plant nursery where Aboriginal people could learn more about horticultural practices.

Horticultural workshop held at Ernabella in 1978

Horticultural Practices
Horticulture in the arid zone must be planned well because water for plant use is often very limited. It can also be labour intensive which is not always suitable to local life styles. Hence the following practices have been developed over a 30 year period:

Publications
The following booklets and fact sheets have been produced to help those working with horticultural programs on Aboriginal lands in Central Australia.

Booklets

Fact Sheets