Setting the chocolate bar: A Wiradjuri woman’s push for good

Wiradjuri woman Fiona Harrison is focused on forging a path for change through her “chocolate for good”.

One dollar meant Wiradjuri woman Fiona Harrison would stick to making “chocolate for good” in an effort to empower women and First Nations communities.

Fiona, of Moss Vale, NSW, was trialling her Chocolate on Purpose brand for 12 months, and vowed to continue the venture if she made more than her former gross wage. She beat her target by $1, and founded Australia’s first Indigenous chocolate company.

She said her life experiences forged her path to creating the now-successful brand, as well as understanding native botanicals and supporting Indigenous communities.

“I was removed from my Dad’s Wiradjuri family when I was a young child,” she said.

“I was denied the culture that was my birthright, there was intergenerational trauma within my family.

“Life goes on and you grow. I was a career banker at that stage and involved in an armed hold up, it was a hostage situation.”

Chocolate on Purpose founder Fiona Harrison. Picture: Supplied

Fiona said she had complex PTSD and faced panic attacks before she tried a cold compress with a plant related to lavender.

“I never had another panic attack, and I started to be really curious about how a plant could have such a powerful benefit,” she said.

Fiona started studying aromatherapy and her ancestry, as well as undertaking a chocolate making course as a general interest. Most recently, she graduated from a culture and history degree.

“Chocolate is a universal language,” she said.

“I thought I would use chocolate to share the power of Australian native botanicals because that’s what my ancestors had been using for more than 60,000 years.”

Fiona’s brand is now home to chocolates made with Davidson plum, Illawarra plum, raspberries, riberries, macadamia nuts, finger limes and more.

She handmakes the chocolates, and said they were purposefully paired and infused for layered flavouring.

Chocolate on Purpose founder Fiona Harrison. Picture: Supplied

Fiona chooses to avoid palm oil and sources her cacao beans from Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Ghana through Cocoa Horizons’ not-for-profit and fair trade program which created safe working conditions and paid reasonable wages to farmers.

Her native botanicals are sourced directly from First Nations growers.

“I became acutely aware that less than 2 per cent of the supply chain is Indigenous but it’s grown off the back of our intellectual property,” she said.

“There are even fewer women, but traditionally we are the holders of the plant knowledge system.”

Fiona’s long-term goal is to grow her business to employ more Indigenous women and support more growers, as well as creating a dedicated chocolate-making space, garden and tasting room for visitors.

“I try to pave a better and safer way for our kids and the kids to come after them, and after them,” she said.

The Shine Awards is a joint partnership between The Weekly Times and Harvey Norman that is a true celebration of women right across rural and regional Australia.