Manapan Furniture company model is designed to develop skills and employment opportunities by employing local Arnhem Land people and incorporating local crafts into each design so that each piece has a unique edge, with all profits feeding back into the community.

Dreamed up by RAMVEK owner Mark White and facilitated by ALPA , Manapan is a self-sufficient and self-funded furniture making business.

Manapan has also established an important relationship with the local Milingimbi School, providing work experience for students with the hope that teaching them a trade will help them live an independent life and break the welfare cycle.

What I found especially inspiring was the respect shown for the Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land. All the wood is sourced locally with the permission from the local elders, who have a rich and precious generational knowledge, and reverence is shown to sustainability and sacred site areas.