Dust Up

The Prepare Produce Provide Djinda Ngardak team go on a road trip to the Western Desert of Western Australia for Dust Up - a festival based on sharing education and knowledge, as well as being a celebration across the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Guided by Indigenous elders and chefs, participants learn traditional cooking methods, gather bush ingredients, and gain insights into their ancestral culinary heritage. The program fosters cultural pride and culinary skills.

The Program

The Prepare Produce Provide culinary team has the privilege of being invited to cook for Dust Up - the “On Country” Ngaanyatjarra Lands School event in the Western Desert of WA as well as hold culinary workshops along the way.    

Over 17 days the team works alongside school communities and guided by Indigenous elders and chefs, participants learnt traditional cooking methods, gathered bush ingredients, and gained insight into the ancestral culinary heritage. The program offers a holistic program tailored to connect youth with fundamental cooking skills.

A water tower and a small farm building silhouette against a colorful sunset sky with trees in the background.
Three children with messy hair and chalk or flour on their faces sitting at a table, one wearing a hoodie, in a room with a wooden panel behind them.

The Journey

The Prepare Produce Provide team travel through various communities including Wingella, Jamison, Papulunkutja, Blackstone, Giles Weather Station, Dock River, Warrajuna and more, holding culinary workshops along the way with a diverse range of students from pre-primary to teens, tailored especially to connect students to fundamental cooking skills, and incorporating traditional cooking methods and bush ingredients.  

Time spent with respected local elders especially Miss Daisy and Dr Lizzy is invaluable learning more about culture and country.

The journey culminates in the Prepare Produce Provide team preparing morning and afternoon tea, as well as lunches and dinners for the over 300 participants from remote schools for the DUST UP – Ngganyatjarra Lands School Event devising a delicious menu to support the three days of sports under the guidance of head Chef Tanya. Many of the school’s teacher, chefs and volunteers rolled up their sleeves to support our colleagues and remote communities on this special community event.  

Read about the Previous Year’s Journeys!

Dust Up 2023

A woman and two young girls wearing navy blue aprons in a kitchen, smiling, with the woman leaning towards the girls. The girl on the right is holding a tray with cooked food, and there are baking supplies on the counter.
Home Economics Teacher Jacqui Snyder's Dust Up 2023 Article

Featuring Dust Up 2024

ABC article Featuring Dust Up 2024
ABC article on Food Insecurity featuring Dust Up 2024
Foodbanks article on Dust UP 2024
Learn more about our Dust Up 2024 Journey

Dust Up 2025

We would like to thank the people of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands - communities, Elders, students and teaching staff - for allowing us to be present in the schools over our two-week visit. We’ve formed some amazing friendships and can’t wait to see you all again next year!

Read More about our 2025 Journey including Team Member - Richard Wards account.

Gallery

A desert landscape with leafless trees and pink wildflowers covering the ground, under a clear blue sky.
Hands mixing dough in a large container.
A boy and a woman sit at a table with colorful patterned tablecloths, holding up peace signs. The boy is smiling and wearing a yellow beanie, and the woman is making a serious face with a headscarf. Both have plates of food in front of them. Other children and adults sit in the background.
A twisted, weathered, dead tree in a barren desert landscape with scattered shrubs under a clear blue sky.
Two women at a table sorting and preparing a large quantity of red cherries.
Two children and an adult preparing or baking cookies in a kitchen or classroom setting, with baking ingredients and tools on the table.
Kids in a kitchen preparing food and tasting with one child holding a whisk in the air.
Three smiling women posing for a selfie in an indoor setting with colorful decorations and kitchen appliances in the background.

Dust Up in the Media

Featured

Metro Cooking Workshops for Dust Up 2025 Featured in Channel 7 Regional News.