Youkie

13/12/2023

Last chances to order and receive one of our bundles in the post before Christmas …

🟢 Today for the NT
🟣 Tomorrow (14 December) for WA
🟠 Sunday (17 December), rest of Australia

Give the gift of screen-free FUN and ad-free OPTIMISM, all summer long.

Bite-sized bundles (2 issues), Youkie bundles (4 issues) and super-sized Goodie bundles (10 issues) are all in store 🌟

https://youkiemag.com/store/
Image: Two Youkie mags tied with an orange bow on a green background. Coloured stars are displayed around this Bite-sized bundle.

04/12/2023

Say happy holidays, happy new year, happy birthday – or just thinking happy thoughts of you – with our Bite-sized bundle. Two magazines, tied with a bow and lots of LOVE.

Or there’s our Youkie bundle. Four jam-packed issues, chock-full of inspiring and informative unplugged FUN.

We know girls don’t just want to be pretty in pink. Well boys aren’t just interested in blowing up aliens either. Youkie is the place to celebrate EVERYTHING a kid can be.

Give the gift of ad-free entertainment and OPTIMISM, all summer long 💝

https://youkiemag.com/store/
Image: A child’s hands hold Youkie issue 21 high in the air, against whispy white clouds and blue sky. Coloured stars are drawn around the mag.

28/11/2023

🌟 SAVE 20% on our Goodie bundle with the code EXTRA-GOODIE 🌟

School’s almost. Out. For. Summer. And we cannot wait.

Fill your empty afternoons and long-distance trips with hours of screen-free fun, when you order a Goodie bundle.

Split the bundle and gift single mags to a circle of friends. Or wrap the whole lot as a bumper surprise for someone special.

Each Goodie bundle is jam-packed with 10 print magazines. That’s nine keepsake Kookies plus our first issue as Youkie, or 10 copies of the same issue. You choose :)

https://youkiemag.com/store/goodie-bundle/

🎉🚙🏖✈️🎁
Images: 10 slides featuring all 10 covers in the Goodie mix bundle. Our cover stars are real pr***en readers with beautiful natural smiles and not a smidge of make-up. Confetti flutters in the background and there’s a starburst in each bottom-left corner, with reader quotes and more displayed inside (text in Comments).

23/11/2023

Right now, across Australia, 10-year-olds are being locked up in prisons.

Criminalising the actions of CHILDREN solves nothing and causes immeasurable harm to young people, families and communities. Kids don’t deserve to be detained and punished. They DON’T belong in prison.

On 1 December 2023, all federal, state and territory attorneys-general are meeting to discuss the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Today we join the many voices calling on politicians to keep the most marginalised children in Australia OUT OF PRISON.

Find out more, contact the attorneys-general, take action.

https://www.amnesty.org.au/campaigns/child-rights/
https://www.changetherecord.org.au/raisetheage
https://raisetheage.org.au/take-action

🚫

Mark Dreyfus
Shane Rattenbury MLA
Michael Daley MP
Chansey Paech: Member for Gwoja
Yvette D'Ath MP
Kyam Maher MLC
Guy Barnett
Jaclyn Symes
John Quigley

Urgent reform is needed to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. It’s time to change the laws that allow imprisonment for primary school-aged kids and to invest in better alternatives.
Images: Two slides reposted from Amnesty International Australia and Change the Record with thanks. The first shows four kids in silhouette against a clear sky. Text across the bottom reads, ‘It’s time to raise the age. No delay in keeping kids away from prisons!’ (photo by Rusty Stewart for Amnesty International). The second slide is an orange panel with text that reads, ‘ Week of Action 2023, 24 November – 1 December. Find out more at raisetheage.org.au/take-action’. An illustration featuring colourful circles is displayed at the top (by Noongar Yorga artist Buffie Corruna).

16/11/2023

If your kids have been worrying about problems in the world, there’s a way to turn those feelings into positive action: they can write a letter to the prime minister.

✏️ Vanessa Ryan-Rendall Author explains, step by step, how to write about big issues and bright ideas to anyone in positions of power, inside Youkie (issue 22). Read her tips in full:

www.youkiemag.com/blog-how-to-write-a-letter-to-the-pm

Our ‘How to’ series also includes:

💬 ‘How to … create a yarning circle’ with Wiradjuri man and Landcare Australia educator Adam Shipp (issue 23)

💔 ‘How to … cope with loss’ by much-loved children’s author Nova Weetman www.novaweetman.com.au (issue 20)

😹 ‘How to … make up a joke’ and spread some joy (issue 21).

There’s sooo much for us to learn and do together.
Images: Four slides show each ‘How to’ feature displayed on a coloured background. A speech bubble overlaps each spread. They read, ‘Take action to make change’, ‘Talk and listen without judgement’, ‘Find a place for every feeling’ and ‘Zing with ideas, fizz with glee!’.

24/10/2023

Respect to BMX racing queen Saya Sakakibara, who has worked her way back from injury to claim the title WORLD CHAMP at the 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup!

If you have a copy of Youkie issue 23, head straight to our interview with Saya and her brother Kai Sakakibara. Be sure to read about the sheer physical effort and commitment to mental growth that goes into winning a championship.

Congratulations Saya! So impressed and thrilled for you 👑
Image: Video of Saya's dazzling World Cup final heat, shared from UCI BMX Racing with thanks.

18/10/2023

CALLING ALL TEACHERS! Four schools have the chance to win a bundle of Youkie mags, thanks to our new partner 🎉

How? So easy ...

Just send an email to Books in Homes and make sure you’re signed up to their newsletter, The Bridge. Full details inside the latest issue (linked below). Closes THIS WEEK, on Friday 20 October ‼️

https://mailchi.mp/225a53ff11da/meet-our-term-4-2023-book-catalogue-role-model-5409959?e=a0842cac68

This year Books in Homes Australia celebrates giving 2.9 MILLION new books (and counting) to young readers, over 21 years of operation 🌟

It’s a thrill and an honour to support this powerful literacy program, which we’ve seen in action and admired for so long. Looking forward to sharing more mags as our partnership grows 🌱
Images: A photo shows two young readers engrossed in the books they’re holding open, propped up on their elbows on the floor of a classroom. The Books in Homes logo appears in the top left corner. In slide 2, confetti falls over copies of Youkie issue 21, placed on a vivid green background, with ‘WIN!’ displayed in a circle on top.

20/09/2023

It’s September, when we usually launch a new quarterly issue. Not this time.

Our latest release, issue 23, marked six years of production. Although the publishing dream is still alive, the past six years have been very full … and so we’re taking a break to review, reflect, recharge and reimagine (all the Rs!) how we create this mighty little mag, before returning in 2024.

Readers who want to continue enjoying our kind of magic, there’s good news: several much-loved previous issues are still in stock, including our very first issue.

youkiemag.com/store/

We’ll keep sharing updates and Youkie goodness here as well. There’s even an exciting new project in development that we’ll be talking about soon.

Stay posted!

To all our brilliant readers, subscribers, contributors and supporters, THANK YOU for your understanding and kind words, and for making this magazine possible ❤️‍🔥

Nicky X
Editor and publisher
Images: Two slides featuring a quote from a subscriber. ‘“Both my girls, now 10 and 14, still love your magazine. A few months ago they started reading their entire collection again and continue to read nonstop ... // “Please let us know if you plan to resume Youkie in the future* and we will definitely resubscribe!” Tracy, Youkie parent (Subscriber since 2018) *Yes, we do ... Stay posted!’

18/08/2023

Who doesn’t want to kick a ball around right now?

Susan Sohar started freestyle football to improve her soccer skills. ‘But it turned into an obsession,’ she says, ‘trying to learn every trick.’

Freestyle combines juggling, dance and acrobatics to perform cool solo tricks. Our guide to this creative sport and Susan’s expert tips are inside the latest Youkie.

All you need is a ball to give it a go! ⚽️
Images: Two photos of Susan, showing her impressive control of a ball. In the first, she’s seen up in the air with the ball against her back heel. The second shows her upper body and head leaning over to the right, with the ball resting on the side of her head. A third slide features our two-page article on freestyle football. A speech bubble floating over the image reads, ‘Inside issue 23’.

16/08/2023

Game changers.

What a gripping World Cup, and what a moment the Matildas have created for us ALL across Australia.

Love you, Tillies ❤️🔥
Image: A photo shared many times and reposted from CommBank Matildas. The whole team is seen from above, standing in a perfect heart shape on a soccer pitch. Whoever set up and took it has captured what we enjoy so much about the way the Matildas play and our admiration for them.

08/08/2023

Our new poster says it all :D

Created by for Youkie readers 🧡💚💛💗

Inside issue 23 🍊
Image: Juice bursts from a drink carton labelled ‘Squeeze the day’. ‘Let’s!’ appears in a speech bubble above it. Leaves, stars, circles and other small hand-drawn elements swirl around it. Candy’s cheeky artwork is lush with yellows, pinks, green and orange.

06/08/2023

Mailed in a beautiful recycled-paper envelope (no plastic here), issue 23 is out now … and being read, reread and shared everywhere! 💌

If you’re enjoying this Youkie, be sure to tell your friends. Link below to our store, where you’ll find some much-loved previous issues in stock too 🌟

youkiemag.com/store/
Images (clockwise from top left): Two young friends and their doggo companion are sprawled over a bed, reading our latest magazine plus a couple of back issues. A drawing of an envelope flying into an open letterbox appears over the photo. Two more slides feature photos of Jade Goodwin Illustration peeking over the cover of issue 23 (just her eyes and dark curly hair can be seen above the cover, held open to show the front and back), as well as Saskia (10) from Press Gang News pointing to her contribution on the last page (she’s smiling brightly in her blue school uniform, holding the mag open with one hand, in front of a red brick wall). ‘Mag mail!’ appears in a green burst over Jade’s photo. On the last slide, ‘Issue 23 out now’ is presented against a dark blue background, with a star shooting out of another letterbox.

28/07/2023

Yip yay! Youkie issue 23 is out NOW everywhere.

🟢 From their childhood passion for BMX to the ups and downs of life as elite athletes, siblings Kai Sakakibara and Saya Sakakibara share it all, speaking straight from the heart in their interview with Chloé (10) and Harshaan (12).

🟣 Frights are a delight in ‘The scaring contest’, a playful short story by Annaleise Byrd - Children's Author and Jade Goodwin Illustration.

🟡 A cool new comic explores the weight of saying goodbye, by Stephen Kok Es Kay and Arturo Palacios. And our four-part manga, ‘Beating the loneliness monster’ by Kelly Tao (11) and Queenie Chan - Writer/Artist, draws to a close.

🔵 Youkie reader and self-published author Daisy (14) shares tips on how to produce your own book. While Adam Shipp, Wiradjuri man and educator with Junior Landcare at Landcare Australia, explains how to create a yarning circle.

🟠 Susan Freestyle Australia describes her love for freestyle football and Abby (13) tells us what it’s like to be a referee at kids’ soccer matches (reffing parents is the hardest part).

🟢 Lucas (13) explains how he founded his nail polish business Glossy Boys. Ruby (10) introduces us to her inner-city community garden. Saskia (10) lays it on the line: her generation needs to show adults how to take responsibility for climate change.

🟣 Learn about animal altruism with Gemma Patience. Cringe at more embarrassing moments with Em Mainey DrawWood. Gain some sound advice from Rowena Red at Amazing Me Education. Pull out a brand-new poster by Yan Yan Candy Ng.

🟡 Plus books, riddles, recipes and lots, LOTS more!

With big thanks to friends Griffin (11) and Harper (10), Richard Hedger Photography and Adeline Fleuve for a knockout cover. And to editorial team Amy Potter, Michelle Wanasundera - Author and Mualla Aydoğan.

Grab your copy youkiemag.com/store ❤️‍🔥
Image: Our new cover sits on an angle, above an orange panel. Griffin and Harper are photographed in black and white against a pink background, under a blue Youkie masthead.

19/07/2023

When your little brother crashes your first ever cover shoot 🤦

A peek behind the scenes, while our latest issue makes its way into the post and off to subscribers 📮

Stay tuned for the new cover reveal and more, here soon 💥
Images: Black-and-white snaps from our latest shoot with friends Griffin and Harper, and Richard Hedger Photography. Griffin’s rowdy younger brother, Perry, leaps into the frame in the first photo, blocking Harper completely. Our cover stars let loose, jumping for joy in the next two shots.

16/06/2023

‘When we talk about the future of food,’ says entomologist, food scientist and edible insect farmer Skye Blackburn-Lang at Circle Harvest, ‘it’s eating what we love and enriching it with insect protein powders, oils and pastes. It’s not scary.’

Here’s a bugalicious recipe made with cricket powder, from our recent eye-opening interview with Skye.

🟢 CHOC CHIP PROTEIN COOKIES

You will need ...

110 grams butter, softened
105 grams brown sugar
110 grams caster sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
190 grams plain flour
80 grams dark chocolate chips
80 grams milk chocolate chips
40 grams cricket protein powder

🟢 Preheat your oven to 180ºC, 160ºC fan forced or Gas 4. Prepare a baking tray by lining it with baking paper.

🟢 Beat the butter and sugars together until they’re smooth and fluffy. Stir in the egg and vanilla essence.

🟢 Add the flour and cricket powder to your mixture. Combine until the dough starts to form a ball, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

🟢 Scoop out tablespoons of dough and roll the scoops into balls. Place the balls on your baking tray, leaving a 3-centimetre gap between balls (space for the dough to spread).

🟢 Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. And enjoy! 😋

If you want to use your own favourite cookie recipe instead, replace a third of your flour with cricket powder.

Don’t have any cricket protein powder? Find a stockist or place an order at:

www.circleharvest.com

To read Skye’s full interview with Harper (10) and Amelie (9), grab a copy of Youkie issue 22:

www.youkiemag.com/store/
Images: Choc chip cookies stacked on a plate, along with some dried crickets and cricket powder. ‘Insect power recipe’ appears in a starburst on top. A second slide features a quote from Skye’s interview, ‘What’s the biggest misunderstanding about eating insects? That you have to eat the whole insect, which isn’t the case.’ Cookie photo thanks to Circle Harvest.

11/06/2023

💬 Who’s nailed setting boundaries? Youkie readers follow Emme as she discovers how to say a simple ‘no’ in our latest comic, ‘Fade’.

With thanks to Julie Ditrich for her thoughtful storytelling, Angie Spice for bringing Julie’s script to life and Stephen Kok Es Kay for his carefully paced lettering.

Don’t miss it! Grab your copy of issue 22 in our store 🌟

www.youkiemag.com/store/
Image: The first spread of Julie’s six-page comic, placed against a bright blue background.

09/06/2023

School News Project’s first flash fiction competition pulled in some mighty stories, inspired by toy shops. Congratulations to Olivia, who took out first place 🎉👏🎉👏

Tap to enjoy Olivia’s quirky creativity, as well as Saskia’s fab entry. We were thrilled to read all the stories and help select placements, as well as contribute prizes.

School News Project is a brilliant new venture, coaching school kids to become reporters and publishers of news. There’s lots more to discover about this immersive, empowering and FUN learning experience at:

www.schoolnewsproject.com
Press Gang News

An ally in giving kids a platform to be seen and heard 🌟
Images: Olivia, a beaming nine-year-old, holds up her first-place certificate and a copy of Youkie mag. Text on top of the photo reads, ‘Flash fiction comp’. The next four slides feature Olivia’s story and Saskia’s (text in Comments below). All the entries are on the SNP website.

02/06/2023

Buy Youkie issue 22, get an EXTRA copy for a friend 💛

This weekend only! Offer on our website with the code GIFT-22 👇

https://youkiemag.com/store/issue-22/ 💥
Image: Two copies of issue 22 tied together with a bow. A blue circle sits in the bottom right corner with the words, ‘Buy one, get two. Treat a friend!’

30/05/2023

🐣 Lucy asks, ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’

Swipe for answers … There’s this and more for curious minds inside issue 22 👀

What do you wonder ⁉️
Images: Lucy’s age-old question appears in blue text on a billowing cloud shape. On the second slide, Youkie’s answer is presented alongside an illustrated curious kid holding up a magnifying glass (text shared below in Comments). A ribbon flies at the top of both slides with the words, ‘I wonder’.

25/05/2023

On Sorry Day especially we pay respect to the Stolen Generations, who were forcibly removed as children from their families and communities with devastating consequences.

Today we renew our commitment to understanding truth and supporting justice.

Any friends who are new to this Australia-wide observance every 26 May, visit the Healing Foundation to learn more about the intergenerational trauma caused by race-based government policies.

www.healingfoundation.org.au
Image: ‘Sorry’ written in smoky white letters in a clear blue Gadigal sky. Thanks to butupa for use of this image (CC BY 2.0), captured over Sydney Harbour Bridge.

23/05/2023

True or false? The minimum age to vote in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Malta, Nicaragua and Scotland is 16.

It’s true, and support to lower the voting age everywhere is growing. Youkie reader Isla (12) and Make it 16 NZ campaigners in Aotearoa New Zealand are two voices, which you can read in full inside our latest issue.

There are more. Best-selling author and parent educator Steve Biddulph has launched Standing Up for the Young.

‘What if we gave young people the vote? And that most basic of rights: a say in their own fate?’ he asks at sufty.org. ‘200 million people around the world are aged 16 or 17 (almost half a million in Australia). The evidence is that they are as knowledgeable and motivated as most older people about democracy and climate change.’

Stand up, join in, find out 🧐

www.makeit16.org.nz
www.makeit16.au
www.sufty.org
Steve Biddulph's Raising Girls
Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys
Images: Three slides featuring quotes from our ‘Your say’ and ‘Rad kids’ pages in issue 22. Quotes shared in Comments.

18/05/2023

Weekend crafternoon? Here are three cool projects, all super simple and so effective.

🟠 ‘Tie-dye’ shoes
🟢 Tin can lanterns
🟣 Safety pin bracelets

Take a look at ‘Make it’ inside our latest issue for mess-free, oh-so-easy ‘tie-dye’ shoe instructions.

Grab a back issue, or head to our website, for how to design your own little lanterns and colourful bracelets.

Get crafty 🖍️🔨🧷🎨

www.youkiemag.com/store/
www.youkiemag.com/blog/
Images: Youkie mags, scissors, pencils and pens burst out of a wooden box. The words ‘Make it!’ appear in a splash on top. Three more slides follow featuring finished craft projects: multicoloured shoes (labelled ‘Issue 22’), a twinkling lantern outdoors at sunset (‘Issue 11’) and a beautiful beaded, safety pin bracelet worn on the wrist of a girl, hanging from a tree branch and smiling brightly (‘Issue 15’)

16/05/2023

✨ ‘Down the end of our backyard it’s like a strange forest, full of weird plants and piles of junk. My dad’s a collector, which I’ve started to suspect is just a kind of hoarder. I swear his rubbish makes noises and moves around sometimes, as if it’s alive …’ ✨

Readers are taken on a wild, magical misadventure with Tom and his ‘pesky’ (as in, VERY annoying) little sister Bella, in our latest short story.

‘The accidental mouse’ is written with cheeky irreverence by Liz Ledden Author and beautifully illustrated by Kruti Desai 🙌

This gem is waiting to be enjoyed on the printed page, inside issue 22.

www.youkiemag.com/store/ 🐭
Image: Kruti’s full-page illustration. Peering through a gap in a tangle of odd plants, we see a boy running away from an unusually large mouse, across a backyard towards his house. A badge floating over the image reads, ‘New short story’.

12/05/2023

Friyay ✌️

Pull out our latest poster, hang it on a wall and feel fab all weekend.

Inside issue 22 🙂
Image: Part of our new poster, an illustration with a throwback 70s vibe. Beams of light radiate from a small yellow circle against a vivid sunset sky, graduating from blue into purple, red, orange, yellow and green at the base. Stars fill the background and colourful clouds float in front.

10/05/2023

Dear Prime Minister …

Issue 22 takes a look at ACTION and ways to stop worrying about problems in the world by helping to make change.

Vanessa Ryan-Rendall Author explains how. Flip to page 32 to get started.

📣📣 This one’s for all our proud budding activists! 📣📣
Image: Vanessa’s two-page feature inside issue 22, placed against a green background. The headline reads, ‘How to … write a letter to the PM’. A speech bubble overlaps the spread with ‘Be passionate, be polite, be patient!’ quoted from the article.

06/05/2023

Introducing Obvious Bear, created by Milly (11) 🌟

Obvious may or may not be based on Milly’s own dad 🐻 … Either way, her ever-forbearing character is here to entertain you with a kid’s take on adulting.

Enjoy. More to come 🙂

With thanks to Milly for sharing her fab comic art with us. Link below to her origin story 🐣

https://www.obviousbear.com/origin-story/
Image: Obvious, a friendly brown bear wearing a blue tie, stars in this single-panel comic. ‘Don’t use up all the hot water,’ he says to his daughter, who has a shower cap on. ‘So obvious, Dad,’ his daughter replies. In the final scene it’s Dad’s turn in the bathroom, where he stands patiently and obviously under a shower of icy water.

05/05/2023

Some questions are BIG❣️

Our ‘Ask us’ pages are where curious kids get advice on challenging topics. Inside issue 22, Rowena Red from www.amazingme.com.au walks Evie and other readers through different kinds of love, and explains how hormones play a role in the way we feel.

‘Whatever happens for you, remember that trust, honesty, consent and safety are the most important things to experience in any healthy relationship ...’

Flick to page 49 to read the answer in full. It’s a beautifully helpful response, and might spark a conversation between you and your rad young reader 💛

www.youkiemag.com

PS, we’re accepting new questions from Youkie readers on wellbeing, identity, friendship – on any problem, large or small – for upcoming issues.
Image: Animated text, ‘Does puberty have anything to do with love?’, appears word by word on a yellow background. ‘Evie, 11’ is credited under the question and ‘Ask us’ is displayed in a blue ribbon at the top of the slide.

01/05/2023

Were you away when our latest mag was released?

Issue 22 is ✨out NOW✨ and here to enjoy on quiet weekends, hectic play dates and long car rides, through all 10 weeks of term.

With thanks to for this happy snap of her well-travelled Youkie, keeping the holiday glow alive.

www.youkiemag.com/store/
Image: A hand holds up our new issue, with blue sky and a peaceful beach inlet seen behind the magazine’s front cover.

05/04/2023

Issue 22 has landed, and we’re all smiles.

🔴 Meet entomologist, food scientist and edible insect farmer Skye Blackburn-Lang Circle Harvest, interviewed by Youkie readers Amelie (9) and Harper (10). Skye talks about the future of food, and it’s bugalicious!

🔵 ‘Best foot forward’ shares tips to make emotional awareness your superpower. By Mualla Aydoğan.

🟡 New comic ‘Fade’ introduces Emme, an overwhelmed student who learns to set boundaries and take good care of herself. Written by Julie Ditrich, with art by Angie Spice and lettering by Stephen Kok Es Kay.

🟢 Four-part manga ‘Beating the loneliness monster’ returns, exploring the way our online and irl selves connect. By Kelly Tao (11) and Queenie Chan - Writer/Artist.

🟣 And a strange, magical misadventure unfolds in ‘The accidental mouse’, our latest short story. By Liz Ledden Author, illustrated by Kruti Desai.

🔴 Explore why animals hibernate with Gemma Patience. Learn how to write a letter to the PM with Vanessa Ryan-Rendall Author.

🟡 Cringe at more embarrassing moments illustrated by Em Mainey. Get some valuable advice from Cathy, Coach Al and Rowena Red from Amazing Me.

🔵 Make ‘tie-dye’ canvas shoes, give horseriding a go, meet some real rad kids and LOTS more!

Order a freshly printed copy today from the Youkie store. Subscribers, yours are on their way, flying through the post in PAPER envelopes.

www.youkiemag.com/store/

With thanks to all our talented contributors, including editorial team Amy Potter and Mualla Aydoğan. And to stars Sara (7) and Jeff (10), photographer Amanda De Simone and illustrator Adeline Fleuve for creating a fabulous new cover.
Image: Issue 22 cover featuring Sara and her brother Jeff, smiling brightly. Jeff is giving his sister a piggy-back ride. They’re photographed in black and white, against a yellow background. An illustration inspired by content in the mag is drawn around them, and there’s a red Youkie masthead across the top. The cover is placed on an angle against a dark-blue panel. A butterfly and a cricket have escaped the illustration, sitting outside the cover's edge.

04/04/2023

One juicy witchetty grub, harvested on Anangu land. Mantamaru Community-Jameson share this fab photo and insight into a protein-rich food source inside our next issue.

Youkie readers Amelie and Harper also interview entomologist, food scientist and edible insect farmer Skye Blackburn-Lang from Circle Harvest.

Issue 22 is bugalicious and out tomorrow 🐛🦗🐜🦂🕷
With thanks to everyone at Mantamaru for your generosity, helping us see and appreciate desert life. (If you haven’t already, be sure to follow them.)

Maku, pronounced mah-koo, translates to edible grubs, the most famous of which is the witchetty grub. Found primarily in the roots of the witchetty bush – hence the name – witchetty grubs are larvae that can grow to at least six centimetres, and source their own food from the wood they reside in.

Although you might be a little put off at the thought of eating a grub, they are absolutely worth a try. Aboriginal people have enjoyed them for thousands of years, and while they can be eaten alive and raw, you can also lightly roast or barbeque them; it is said that they taste like chicken or prawns when cooked, while raw their taste resembles that of almonds. Like other bush foods already mentioned, witchetty grubs are nutritious and full of protein, making for a healthy and delicious meal. 

Witchetty grubs have an important history within Aboriginal culture. They are common in Aboriginal paintings, and also used for medicinal purposes, with the grubs being turned into paste and used as a balm for burns. Traditionally, the Anangu women and children were responsible for finding the grub, using their knowledge of the flora to figure out where to dig. If you are interested in encountering these famous grubs, they are usually most active in the summertime