THE WA sandalwood industry is about to get a big boost with Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils (DSO) announcing it would start production of sandalwood (Santalum spacatum) in December.
DSO is owned by indigenous group Dutjahn Custodians (Dutjahn is the Indigenous Martu word for sandalwood) and WA Sandalwood Plantations Pty Ltd founders Keith Drage and Ron Mulder.
The supply agreement for the new facility is between the founders of DSO and the State government’s Forest Products Commission (FPC).
Under the contract, DSO will export 100 tonnes of sandalwood oil per year for 10 years, expecting to make more than $40 million, and this will be complemented by Mr Drage and Mr Mulder’s plantation wood from their company and native wood from the Gibson desert from indigenous harvesters.
The supply agreement is also linked to a 10 per cent royalty into the K Farmer Dutjahn Foundation for the purpose of maximising indigenous equity in the Australian sandalwood industry.
The new distillation plant is still under construction in Kalgoorlie, where most of WA’s native sandalwood grows.
As well as providing the current market for sandalwood, mainly Asia for incense sticks, Mr Mulder, one of DSO’s founders, said the company planned to increase the quality and quantity of sandalwood oil and export markets in France and the United States.
“What we are doing is repairing the sandalwood oil industry which has been affected in recent years with inconsistent supplies of both quality and quantity, and we are targeting back into the perfume industry in France and the aromatherapy industry in the US for the oil itself,” Mr Mulder said.
“That’s the big excitement of doing this – we are getting some great feedback and not only do we have indigenous certification for the oil but we will also have the renewable resource, being the plantation industry complementing that as well.”
The facility will provide jobs for the region, initially starting off with a small team but DSO expects this to increase throughout 2018.
The facility will also supply roles for local contractors and most of the equipment is being made in WA, with only the boiler coming from Victoria.
The local indigenous community will also benefit with job opportunities, income from being stakeholders of DSO and the royalties going into indigenous charities.
DSO chairman and former director of Dutjahn Custodians, Darren Farmer, said the new venture would be an opportunity to supply sandalwood with the indigenous cultural history attached.
“We will sell the product as an indigenous product with our story attached to it – this will bring a nice cultural aspect to the industry,” Mr Farmer said.
Ken Farmer (deceased) came from the Gibson Desert as a young man in the 1950s and was a first-contact Martu Aboriginal man.
He began harvesting sandalwood in 1977 from the Gibson Desert and inspired the second generation to carry on his vision, which is now being taught to the third generation.
This venture sets a new benchmark for collaboration between indigenous people and private business, while maintaining mutual respect for ownership and participation.
In August 2017, Mr Drage and Mr Mulder injected a capital investment into DSO to establish a foundation for a relationship between the two parties – Mr Drage, Mr Mulder and the Dutjahn Custodians.
The relationship is built on sharing knowledge that, in terms of production, the old wild trees from the desert need to be merged with the new plantation industry for the production of sandalwood oil to be sustainable long-term.
As well as a decline in the quality and quantity of sandalwood oil having a detrimental impact in the WA industry, illegal harvesting has also been a constant issue.
Mr Mulder said that illegal sandalwood harvesting was affecting the reputation of the State’s sandalwood products and the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) are lagging behind in putting a stop to or even reducing it.
“One thing we are disappointed about is the speed of which they (DPAW) are re-writing legislation for fines seems to be dragging at the moment, there is just not enough deterrence for people to stop illegal harvesting because at the moment, it’s still a slap on the wrist,” Mr Mulder said.
“Once you get a black market happening, it’s not sustainable anymore – we pride ourselves, both in plantation and the wild harvesting of being a sustainable industry and we want to keep it that way.”
Mr Mulder said he was looking forward to starting producing sandalwood oil, especially with the support of the indigenous community.
“We are extremely excited on getting this plant built, the construction has started and we are looking forward to pouring our first oil in December,” he said.
“It’s going to be great for the indigenous involvement and employment, and it’s based in Kalgoorlie which is really the centre of where sandalwood comes from.”