Palyani, pronounced Bahl-ya-nee, began as a serendipitous meeting between Nina and renowned Energy Healer, Charlie Goldsmith.

Nina on Kokatha Country

A note from Nina:

Our journey began when I reached out to Charlie, following his feature in the US docu-series ‘The Healer.’

My connection to Charlie's healing journey was deeply personal. Having followed him on social media for years, my interest was rooted in my daughter Taylah's struggles. Diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at 18, she endured relentless headaches throughout her teenage years.

In a leap of faith, I approached Charlie, hoping he could provide some relief. The results were more than positive, significantly improving Taylah's quality of life.

The opportunity to express my gratitude came when Charlie shared about his daughter Rocky's struggle with severe eczema, a condition resistant to both conventional and alternative treatments. I offered our traditional Bush Medicine, Irmangka-Irmangka, hoping it could help.

Remarkably, Rocky's hand healed completely within just two weeks, and the eczema did not return. This led me to approach Charlie with a proposal: to partner in establishing Palyani, to make our bush medicine accessible to a broader audience, around the world.

Together, we see Palyani as more than a business venture. It's a symbol of the efficacy of traditional bush medicine and alternative healing methods, especially in a world craving a holistic approach to wellness.

Our partnership embodies the belief that when diverse experiences, wisdom, and healing traditions are united, transformation is possible.

In our language, "Palya" (Bahl-ya) means many things including good, all good, and great. Adding “ni” on the end of this word changes the meaning: “to make good, to fix.” This is what our Bush Medicine does, it makes your ailment good again. It can often fix the problem, too.

My husband Shane, our children, and I are from the Kokatha Tribe of South Australia. I was first shown how to make Bush Medicine by one of my elders in the early 2000’s during my time out bush working for Native Title. 

I loved walking around on my Tjumu’s (Grandfather's) country and wild harvesting bush medicine with some of the Aunties. 

For years we hand made and poured the liquid into any small jar we could find, even the tiny Vegemite jars. We painted dots on them and decided we would bring it to the wider public through Facebook.

A lot of people were intrigued by our bush medicine and wanted to try it. We wanted to bring our culture to everyone and show people that our ancestors are still alive through us, as we practice what they taught us, and continue to teach us each day.

We have since been making bush medicine for anyone and everyone for the past 5 years, and have helped many people, mainly in Australia. 

We will always have a spiritual connection to our land, our ancestors, our Dreaming, our families, and our extended families and communities.

We have a responsibility to continue to pass down our knowledge to our children and young people, so that they too can pass it onto theirs. It is our responsibility to look after the land so that its beauty and wonder can be shared by all. We honour its landscapes and the connection we have through our Dreamtime, which is why we will always protect it from being destroyed.

We tell stories of our culture and land through our art. We connect through language and family. If we lose these parts of us we too will be lost.

Aboriginal people want to share our culture with you all and how beautiful and truly wonderful it is. 

I hope by creating “Palyani” with the help of Charlie and the team we have created together, that it will help bridge the gap between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people, and the stigma attached to our people through colonisation. 

Personally, I want to show the world that no matter where you come from, you can succeed if you work hard and look after yourself, using your talents and your strengths to take you where you want to go in life.

I want to show the younger generation to be proud of their culture and show as much of it as they can. We don’t have to hide in the shadows, dream big and believe in yourself, always.

Nina x