Aboriginal Barangaroo pop-up market founder Peter Cooley wants to help youth connect with culture

Peter Cooley grew up in and out of the water at La Perouse on Sydney's south-east coast. "We're saltwater people," he says. "When I was 10, I was spoilt for abalone, blue groper, pippies, all types of shellfish. We'd spend all day out on the rocks, but we'd never take any food with us. It was all there."

These days, he spends his time running community programs and social enterprises such as Catch N Cook and From Seeds To Success, teaching urban Aboriginal youth the age-old skills – from harvesting bush foods to lighting fires and cooking the catch on the beach – that link them back to their culture. "It's about looking at the landscape in a whole different way and learning how all things are connected," says Cooley. "That's what's missing in their lives. Without culture, there's no resilience, no confidence, no identity."

Having set up the First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation in 2005, Cooley and partner Sarah Martin focused on programs that placed high value on Aboriginal culture. In 2014, they launched the Blak Markets, held on the last Sunday of every month on Bare Island, La Perouse, complete with food stalls, coffee, workshops and tours.

"The markets work in many different ways," says Cooley, "as training and employment, as an economic business hub, as a cultural reconnector, and as a way of transferring knowledge and skills from elders to the next generation."

Now the Blak Markets are coming to town, given pride of place at a special NAIDOC Week event to be held at Nawi Cove, Barangaroo Reserve on Saturday July 9 from 11am to 4pm. It's a good fit, with this year's NAIDOC Week (July 5 to 12) theme being "We all Stand on Sacred Ground", emphasising the strong spiritual and cultural connection Indigenous people have to land and sea. And, importantly, to food.

The NAIDOC Blak Markets will feature outdoor cooking demonstrations by chef Clayton Donovan, Fred's Bush Tucker, and Black Olive's Mark Olive, amidst live music, traditional dance performances, weaving and workshops.

"We want visitors to try Indigenous bushfoods and learn about traditional Indigenous cooking methods," says Martin, who lists tastings from Aboriginal women-owned native foods companies Five Kungkas and Indigearth as highlights. Note to self: do not leave without a jar of Indigearth Ground Saltbush – just the thing for Saturday night's fish dinner.

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