Realigning Cape York: The aspiring chiropractor out to improve community nutrition

Malachai hails from Weipa in the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland and has strong roots in Indigenous and agricultural Australia.

Growing up on his family’s beef and dairy farm he saw the need for better health and nutrition in his community.

Now, the evoke^AG. 2025 Groundbreaker is using permaculture and community gardens to provide free, nutritious food and improve wellbeing in his community – all while studying to become a chiropractor.

Tell us about your vision to improve access, availability and cost of fruit and vegetables in the Cape York region?

I want to do this through a five-step process.

• Step 1: Plan and plant out a community orchard with many varieties of tropical fruit trees and nuts, using pre-existing abandoned farmland.
• Step 2: Begin educational trips for the local primary schools, teaching youth about the importance of growing fruit, vegetables and healthy eating.
• Step 3: Cultivate fruit trees to be given to the community, along with gardening material.
• Step 4: Introduce the community to raising small scale livestock like chickens and goats etc.
• Step 5: My long-term goal is to improve infrastructure which involves bridging the Myall Creek to allow overland supermarket transport and build a local marketplace to sell homegrown produce.

Can you share your background and what drives your passion for climate change?

Growing up in the Cape York region we face unique challenges in regard to health and strengthening the local economy.

Our food is shipped from Cairns around the top of the Cape, stopping at Thursday Island before reaching Weipa. We receive a considerably smaller selection of fruit and vegetables compared to Woolworths in other parts of the state. Our fruit and vegetables often have little to no shelf life after such a long ship trip.

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We can go up to three weeks at a time not receiving fruit or vegetables due to cyclonic weather conditions in the wet season, and the price for fruit and vegetables on the Cape is considerably more expensive. With these factors in mind, it has become increasingly harder for local Indigenous families to access fruit and vegetables, which in consequence is leading to poorer health outcomes.

Most diseases seen on Cape York are preventable and have strong links to nutrition.

Seeing my family, friends and wider community being directly affected by this has inspired me to drive change in this area.

The big issue or gap your initiative tackles?

The issue we are trying to address is the lack of access to fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables which is causing adverse health outcomes. Our community is trying to address this issue by a number of means, one being advertising an app that scans food and gives a health rating. Another is women’s/men’s groups to discuss challenges the community is facing.

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While these are good steps, neither are addressing the root cause of the issue or empowering the community to learn, develop and cultivate agricultural skills.

What was it that appealed to you about the program and what do you hope to get out of it?

By being part of the Groundbreakers program, I hope that I can learn from other experts in the same field and bring those learning back to my community to help shape the project.

I am eager to raise awareness of the issues that remote communities face so that other interested leaders in the industry can help collaborate to find solutions, and I’m looking forward to the mentoring I am going to receive along with the experience of presenting at evoke^AG. as these are invaluable experiences.

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I am also looking forward to meeting the other Groundbreakers at evoke^AG. and learning about the issues they’re facing and addressing.

Top tip for fellow aspiring innovators in the agtech industry?

Make sure you are working in an area that you feel passionately about. When you’ve got passion for a topic or project, you give it your all, are unfazed by setbacks and keep trying until successful.

What is the evoke^AG. Groundbreaker Program?

Formerly known as the evoke^AG. Future Young Leaders program, the evoke^AG. Groundbreakers program was renamed in 2024 to better reflect the innovative and impactful leadership of its participants.

The 2025 program is proudly sponsored by Coles and will empower five emerging leaders in agrifood and related industries, guiding them to present their innovations at the evoke^AG. 2025 event in Brisbane on 18-19 February. Participants receive mentoring and a post-event bursary, supporting their goals to enhance rural communities and advance Australian agriculture.

Participants span Australia and New Zealand and are aged between 18-30.