A 100% Aboriginal owned and operated business, Kinya Lerrk, is bringing Acknowledgement of Country into the homes, schools and businesses of Australia.

Kinya Lerrk, which means ‘women coming together’ in the Wemba Wemba language, is the brainchild of co-owners Emma Bamblett (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji and Taungurung) and Megan Van Den Berg (Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta and Boon Wurrung).

Their business designs a range of Acknowledgement of Country plaques, which you can order online and have delivered to your door.

Though Emma and Megan had known and worked with each other for years, including on a range of creative projects, the idea for the plaques and business came quite by chance.

 ‘We were approached by a hotel group to create an acknowledgement plaque,’ Megan said.

‘Funny enough they were quite difficult and we never went through with the project but we then decided together to create our first group of plaques.‘

They already had a long-term relationship with a printer so after quite a bit of research and help setting up their website, they were ready to go.

And so were the customers!

‘One of our biggest customers is schools which really warms our hearts to be honest and to see that our kids are growing up to acknowledge country,’ Emma said.

‘We have also had kinders, hotels, yoga studios, youth justice centres, residential and aged care facilities, mainstream and Aboriginal organisations and homes. We were also so excited to see our plaques put up at 2 Treasury Place, Melbourne.’

Their large collection of designs show a strong connection to their heritage and to the land.

‘We are both inspired by our Ancestors, our Elders, their stories and our experiences of culture and land and we particularly love birds, animals and landscapes,’ Megan said.

If needed, they can also customize the plaque to suit the needs of the customer. Changes can be to size, text and include the specific country (within protocols). They can also add a logo. 

‘We also design a whole new plaque if someone has a specific design in mind that we haven’t already produced,’ Megan said.

In addition to the plaques, they have created a small range of candles.

‘We are both addicted to homewares and anything that makes our house look and smell nice,’ Emma said.

‘Working with a local candle maker we were able to trial a range of scents and we also wanted to pay homage to the cultural significance of lemon myrtle, eucalyptus and bush scents (which really does smell like you are back on country!).‘

‘We launched them just as Australia went into lockdown so they were very well received.’

October is Indigenous Business Month, a time to celebrate Indigenous business acumen and entrepreneurship.

Emma and Megan’s inventiveness and courage has led to a thriving enterprise, which is an example to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women wanting to start a business.

‘Don’t be afraid to take a risk, find your point of difference in the market and do the research before you launch,’ Megan said.

‘And be ready for a lot of hard work and be ready to make mistakes but don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s all a learning process.’

When strong business foundations are laid down early, success can continue for many years.

‘[In 10 years’ time] we would love to still be making art and having our designs and products in offices and homes,’ Emma said.