Background:  

Born and bred in the South Australian rangelands.  Spent time working in adult education, public health and community and economic development.  Currently managing national research project on ‘Bush Foods from Desert Australia’ for the Desert Knowledge CRC.  Undergrad studies in adult education; post-grad in business management and community development.

Study Area: 

Project Title: Information Flow and the Power Dynamic in Value Chains in the Australian Bush Foods Industry

Project outline: The Australian bush foods industry comprises products derived from uniquely Australian flora and fauna.  The industry was founded primarily upon traditional Aboriginal knowledge of the collection, preparation and uses of Australian plants. Until recently, supply of these plants for food production was mainly sourced from the wild.  Despite the development of the industry which has been largely reliant on Aboriginal knowledge, Aboriginal participation in the industry is currently marginal, and predominant involvement is in the supply (cultivation and wild harvest) of raw product.  My research seeks to examine links between power and information flow in bush food value chains in more detail  investigating the impact of intercultural context, and to consider this specifically in relation to Aboriginal participation in the industry.

Advisors:

Principal: Dr Kim Bryceson, UQ
Other: Professor Murray McGregor, Curtin

Collaborating Organisations:

Desert Knowledge CRC

Publications:

• Cleary, J.A. 2008, Developing Aboriginal Supplier Cooperatives in the Australian Bush Foods Industry, Working Paper Series, Desert Knowledge CRC (in prep)
• Raymond, C.M., Cleary, J.A., Cosgrove, K., 2006, A Community Capacity Assessment Tool and Process for Natural Resource Management, DWLBC 2006/35, SA Government Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, Adelaide, SA
• Cleary, J.A., Raymond, C.M., Cosgrove, K., 2006, Community Engagement In Natural Resource Management:  Capacity Auditing In The SA Arid Lands, Proceedings of 14th Biennial Conference, Australian Rangelands Society, Renmark, SA
• Davies, J., with contributions written by Donald Fraser, Tim Hill, Frank Young, Lexie Knight, Nic Gambold, Meg Mooney, Veronica Dobson, Jenny Cleary, Jason Downs, Rodney Edwards, 2004, For Health Country and Healthy People: Indigenous Land Management in Central Australia.  An overview paper for the 13th Biennial Conference, Australian Rangelands Society, Alice Springs, NT
• Golder, W., Cleary, J., Johnston, A., 2006, Outback Connect: Bridging the Digital Divide, Proceedings of APEN Conference, March 3-6, Beechworth, Vic.

Contact Details:

• E-mail: cleary.jenny@saugov.sa.gov.au