L'Oréal Partners with Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation
L’Oréal Groupe have announced its partnership with Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation’ (ETNTAC) and the financial investment of AUD $600,000 as part of a three-year commitment to the ‘Rejuvenation trees:Healing Country Together’ project.
West Australian-based charity Tjaltjraak, pronounced "Dul-u-rak" which means "Glow in the Dark", focuses on driving positive cultural, social and economic change for the Traditional Owners of Kepa Kurl, the Wudjari people.
The L’Oréal Groupe’s funding will support land and biodiversity restoration through the planting of an initial 65,000 trees in Kardutjaanup, a degraded cropping property in Western Australian spanning across almost 4,000 hectares. The project is set to create on-country employment opportunities, supporting at least 40 First Nations employees in this area, offering landscape restoration jobs as well as project support roles at Tjaltjraak. In turn, the project aims to enable true economic self-determination for the Wudjari Nyungar people, through the ownership of legal title to land and long-term income from landscape rejuvenation, carbon sequestration through certified carbon credits, and regenerative agriculture.
Marnie Carroll, Chief Corporate Affairs and Engagement Officer says “we are proud to be standing alongside an organisation centred around strong cultural identity and wellbeing for First Nations People, as well as the repair and safeguarding of biodiversity. Our support to the ‘Healing Country Together’ project felt natural as it reflects the commitment of the L’Oréal Groupe towards reconciliation and nature regeneration”.
The regeneration of nature remains a key pillar of ‘L’Oréal for the Future’, the Groupe’s sustainability roadmap to 2030. L’Oréal is accelerating its transformation towards a model respecting planetary boundaries and reinforcing its commitments to both sustainability and inclusion.
The ‘Rejuvenation trees:Healing Country Together’ project allows for the expansion of Tjaltjraak landscape restoration knowledge and teachings, enhancing the connection to country and strengthening cultural heritage, which will enable greater knowledge and stories to be share among the community and passed down to future generations.
“My people are the custodians of Wudjari Country. For thousands of years my peoples’ songlines underpinned complex land use systems. But these were fragmented and damaged as our country was taken and cleared. Now through our partnership with the L’Oréal Groupe, we have the chance to rejuvenate our songlines and restore the health of ecosystems. From little seeds our country grows, and our people heal. Culture is passed on and our custodianship obligations are fulfilled. L’Oréal Groupe and Esperance Tjaltjraak – Healing Country Together” says Gail Reynolds-Adamson, Chair of Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation.
As a priority within L’Oréal’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan, the Groupe has made extensive commitments to further their engagement with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People, supporting them in their journey towards self-determination.