Chocolate on Purpose founder Fiona Harrison has been awarded the Charles Sturt Distinguished Alumni of the Year – First Nations Excellence.

The award recognizes the outstanding achievement or contribution by a First Nations Charles Sturt University alumni in their chosen industry, profession or field.

Ms Harrison, a Wiradjuri woman of the Galari, is the chief executive officer of the certified social enterprise Chocolate on Purpose, which she founded in 2012 and is Australia’s first Indigenous chocolate company. Chocolate on Purpose melds Belgian chocolate with premium native botanicals.

Ms Harrison told National Indigenous Times that she embeds social impact into each business decision.

“My chocolate embodies the change I want to see, and knowing my efforts support equity in supply chains and contribute to sustainable communities makes every challenge worthwhile,” she said.

Ms Harrison said this also includes incorporating Wiradjuri storytelling into her work, from the owl shape that represents Elders’ wisdom to the ‘Walking On Country’ chocolate bar.

“It’s about nurturing a legacy of Yinyamarra, healing and empowerment,” she said.

“A call to ask ourselves: what sort of ancestor do I want to be for the seven generations looking up at us, waiting for their turn to emerge?”

Ms Harrison took up chocolate making and created Chocolate on Purpose in the wake of a traumatic event – an armed bank robbery – which left her with complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While recovering, Ms Harrison discovered essential oils and the power of botanical essences for healing, and soon realised the cultural and traditional importance of these botanicals.

She studied Aromatic Medicine and to be a chocolatier and shared her creations at farmers’ markets, testing recipes and getting feedback from customers and making sure she could infuse the flavours and make combinations that worked together.

These days her creations include delicious combinations like dark chocolate with finger lime; white chocolate with Davidson Plum; and the popular Walking On Country Chocolate Bar – plant-based vegan chocolate with quandong.

Ms Harrison told National Indigenous Times that she was currently committed to building a First Nations-led supply chain to help increase Indigenous representation in Australia’s bushfood and botanical industries.

“Currently less that 2 per cent of leadership is Indigenous,” she said.

“Even fewer are women.”