The Boab Nut Story
THE BOAB NUT STORY
The Boab nut collaboration began when The Ark and Marnin Studio met. What started as a conversation effected a powerful initiative.
Marnin Studio is a creative and therapeutic space set in the beautiful gardens of Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre and provides support to indigenous women and their families in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia. It offers immediate assistance to confronting issues by providing safe houses, legal support and therapy.
Long term, they work to empower women through social enterprise programs, that help them gain personal and financial independence. And so, mutual interests were sparked, and the "The Boab Nut Project" was created.
For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have used the shell of the Boab nut as a canvas for expression, creativity and storytelling. Throughout the Moonggoowarla Waljarri, (cold weather time) the nuts flower and fall from the Boab tree and are collected by women and children who describe them as 'bush popcorn'.
Over the last few years, the Indigenous women of Fitzroy Crossing have taken a more contemporary approach to the design story on the Boab nut, by painting them using palettes of bright colours and patterns unique to their own personal experiences.
Through the eyes of the artist, the Boab nuts transform the way we see the land interacting with nature, and take us into of one of the oldest living cultures in the world. Each Boab nut is an affordable piece of Aboriginal art, which will either start or add to a great personal collection, or make the perfect gift.
Your purchase of a Boab nut supports social enterprise opportunities for the women and families of the Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre, Fitzroy Crossing in W.A.