Chocolate is more than a sweet treat for Fiona Harrison; it’s medicine for the soul. A proud Wiradjuri woman, Fiona took up chocolate making in the wake of a traumatic event—an armed bank robbery—which left her with complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

During her recovery, Fiona discovered essential oils and the power of botanical essences for healing, and—just as her ancestors did—she realised the traditional and cultural importance of these botanicals. She embarked on finding a way to share the healing properties of botanicals and Chocolate on Purpose was born.

“Chocolate On Purpose is Australia’s first Indigenous chocolate company, combining premium chocolate with Australian native botanicals to create our ‘Bush Food Chocolate range,” she says.

“People would see the sign saying chocolate and they would come over, and when they would see the flavours and their brains would be going ‘what’s going on?’ and they were very interested.

“For the eight years that I was at farmers’ markets I was really testing recipes, getting feedback from customers and making sure that I could infuse the flavours and make combinations that really work together.”

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It would be easy to assume that Fiona had the knowledge already, passed down from generation to generation, but sadly, her story is one of cultural disconnection, as previous generations of her family made the decision to deny their Aboriginality to keep their children safe.

“I’m an older woman, so I remember Granddad would take me to visit people,” Fiona says.

“And now as an adult, I know that they were dark-skinned. But when you’re a kid, you don’t give any thought to it.”

By the time she started asking questions, Fiona’s grandfather had passed on, having never told his son—Fiona’s father—or daughter that they were Aboriginal.

“That makes me sad that, you know, that I never really got to talk about it with Granddad and learn,” she says.

“You either got told that you had Indian ancestors or—for my family—it was the Spanish Shaman washing up on the shores of Northern Ireland, and that’s why dad had the black curly hair and the blue eyes. And I remember looking at dad and going ‘That’s bullshit’.

“But it wasn’t until I was bit older that I really started thinking about it. And so, my journey’s really been one of relearning my culture and decolonising my thinking.”

“I think that’s why we need to speak out loud because it’s not a recrimination, but it’s just, um, listen to words and know that they matter.”

Recently, the inaugural Australian Rural Business Awards awarded Chocolate On Purpose the title of Indigenous Business of the Year, which was a surprise and a delight to Fiona who runs the business with only the help of her good friend and supportive ally, Jo.

Due to COVID-19, the ceremony was held online, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people logging on to celebrate and cheer on nominees.

“I was humbled when I heard I’d been nominated as a finalist, as it meant despite the busy lives we all lead, my customers had taken the time to nominate me. When I was announced the winner, I was speechless,” Fiona said.

“As a sole entrepreneur, it’s easy to feel alone while you fang around working to get everything done so you don’t disappoint your customers and also keep everything afloat.

“This nomination, and now this win, have affirmed that the mission of my business is appreciated and valued.”

The company is a disruptor in the artisan specialty chocolate market, delivering real industry impact by empowering Australia’s First Nations and world cacao farmers to have greater participation in supply chains, while contributing to reconciliation in Australia through storytelling with chocolate.

Now, Fiona says the business is in a “painful spot” where the demand for her product is outstripping capacity.

“It’s a great problem to have and we’re very grateful,” she says.

“But you know, we are still really trying hard to find a way to be able to scale so we can increase our capacity.”

The latest product in the shop is a bar called Sacred Harvest, which comes in white, milk or dark chocolate, and pays homage to the bush foods Indigenous people have always used. You’ll notice that on the packaging, Fiona uses traditional language.

“One of the things about the bush foods is that it’s wonderful that the chefs are now using them and people are becoming more aware of them, but as human beings, we always have the potential to slip over too far to the other side. And the danger with this is that they become just run-of-the-mill, like a bunch of parsley.

“What happens then is the cultural provenance will be lost. So, my business’ aim is to talk about the traditional use. Who are the First Nations people that traditionally use this? What is it about the plant that was sacred to them and where is our ingredient grown?”

Fiona explains that less than 1 per cent of the producers of Australian native botanical food are Indigenous, and less than 1 per cent of those are women.

“Yet it was the women who were the traditional holders of the knowledge about the bush foods,” she says.

“And they would share that through storytelling. I like to think that I am working to continue that women’s business to share the information about the traditional use.”