Djinjama is an award-winning cultural design and research practice founded in 2020 by Dr Danièle Hromek (Budawang/Dhurga/Yuin and Burrier/Dharawal). Our name, meaning “to make, complete, produce or build something” in Dhurga language, captures our approach to honouring culture and Country in the built environment.
Djinjama stems from Dr Danièle Hromek’s consulting, design practice and research background. Our core mission is to bring Indigenous rights and culture to the forefront of the built environment, placing Country at the heart of design.
Djinjama aims to infuse Indigenous perspectives and cultural practices into every aspect of our built environment, design and research endeavours. We merge traditional methods with contemporary research, guided by insights passed down from Danièle’s grandmother, Gloria, and honed through Danièle’s research and design experience. Our approach centres on Country, recognising it as the central force that holds and envelops all entities. Our methodology of Reading Country gives authority to Indigenous peoples as the true knowers of the land they are descended from and related to. It involves going beyond colonial records to gain a deeper and more complete understanding of a place.
to Country, culture, kin and community.
those whose shoulders you stand upon and those from whom you learn.
to conserve resources and reduce waste on Country.
to ensure you are acting mindfully and sustainably towards Country.
to a diversity of voices about Country including human, non-human and more-than-human.
Importantly, we are reminded that we do not own the land, the land owns us.
Djinjama’s ethics originate from our worldview, guided by First Nations ways of being and doing. Our core values have been passed down to us by our Elders and families, we have brought this into our design process. Working with Djinjama requires a commitment to Country, culture, community and kin. We view this as a mutual commitment, and invite all clients and collaborators to share in these guiding ethics and values. Our ethical values for our practice are:
Country is living and sentient, always changing and it is important to understand, respect, feel and sense Country. We believe in always starting with and continuing with Country. Our projects start with a walk on Country to create a genuine connection with that place. Our observations inform our responsibilities. We prioritise local knowledge, understand the different layers of Country and integrate a holistic understanding of Country into all stages of our work.
We challenge business-as-usual and believe in social and spatial justice. We integrate many voices in design and project outcomes. We include human, non-human and cultural entities who belong on Country in our considerations for Country. We consider the flow on effects of our work including outside the site boundary. We have diverse connections, diverse people and encourage each member of our team to take leadership in our own expertise and lives. We also expect colleagues and clients to engage mutually in these ethical practices—demonstrated in their collaboration with us and beyond.
We work differently. We strive for diversity, reciprocity and equality. We work so that Country and community benefit from our work. We value our team as part of our community and family. We protect cultural knowledge, follow cultural protocols and processes and respect the cultural authority of Elders, compensating them fairly. We expect Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rights to be protected and respected in contracts and protocols. We seek ways to positively impact diverse non-human and more-than-humans in our project outcomes.
Our community relationships are deeper than professional and therefore more meaningful to us. We work on projects as colleagues and on project bids we preference existing relationships built prior to managing projects together. We value ongoing and genuine relationships and expect to be chosen in projects in a genuine way. We understand that community’s time is valuable, and their needs do not always meet the needs of the project. Community are respected with active listening care and action should be taken in projects to action what has been shared.
We care for Country. We only take as much as is really needed from Country. We evaluate impacts on Country, including non-humans and more-than-humans. We value mindful designing and designs without ego. When specifying materials we take only what we need and recycle, reuse, reform and reclaim. Our recommendations always prioritise the health and wellbeing of Country. We are conscious of time and how time is consumed. We respect community time and that it may not align with project time. We take our role as custodians of Country seriously.
We are serious about our ethics but also find joy in spending time on and learning from Country and Elders. We feel enriched and uplifted through working on, in and with Country. We value opportunities to be on Country. The work we do enriches Country and in turn we too are enriched. Our wellbeing is achieved through respecting independence and agency. The work we do is important for our survival.
Djinjama honours our connections to Country, community, culture and kin through our work. Djinjama’s projects actively interact with lands, waters and air, and as such we actively protect the rights of Country to be healthy in our work. We respect Traditional Custodians who have long cared for Country and aim to elevate First Voices in all our work. We are grateful to Elders and Knowledge Holders for their continued sharing of wisdom, story, language, and knowledge.
