Northrop

The Indigenous community of Mandjawuy in East Arnhem Land is taking remarkable action to ensure the prosperity, independence and education of their community and future generations.

The Yolngu people who call the community home have created the Arnhem Beverage Company, a majority Indigenous-owned business with clear social objectives. The business is packaging pure water from the natural spring that sits at the heart of the community and is selling it all around Australia under the brand Knowledge Water. A significant proportion of profits from this venture will be invested into the local community and will also go towards training Indigenous teachers.

After years of planning, the business launched in August 2021. Water is being transported from Mandjawuy to be packaged in environmentally-friendly paperboard cartons with a project partner in Perth. See the celebration of the Knowledge Water launch here.

Thanks to funding from the Australian Federal Government, the first stage of a production and office complex has been fabricated in Darwin and is due to be assembled and installed in Mandjawuy in early 2023. This building complex will comprise a tanker filling station, modular workshops and an office – all of which will be used to further support employment and education services within the community. 

Northrop has been proudly working with the community, in close partnership with Upside Architecture since 2018. We are providing all engineering services to support this project.

We believe actions speak louder than words and Northrop’s continuing involvement in the Knowledge Water project is part of our ongoing commitment to reconciliation and helping to create opportunities for Indigenous communities.

Follow the Knowledge Water journey here. If you want to hear more about this project, contact Steve Maher - Principal, Senior Structural Engineer on 02 9241 4188.