Merne Mwerre (Good Food)

Added by Children's Ground

Description Merne Mwerre is a celebration of keeping tyerrtye (body) and utnenge (spirit) strong by eating good food and connecting to Apmere (Country).

Merne Mwerre, translating to ‘Good Food’ in English, was filmed in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) at Olive Pink Botanical Gardens with a number of incredibly talented First Nations local community members including Edmond Doolan, Jarrel Williams, Monisha Martin Turner and Carol Turner. The music video portrays two First Nations children learning the power that comes from merne mwerre and how bush tucker can be found on Country.

Merne Mwerre was written and sung by first-time songwriter Edmond Doolan, an Arrernte man from Anapipe (Sandy Bore) north of Alice Springs and Arrernte leader for Children’s Ground's Men’s and Youth team. The song is sung in both Eastern/Central Arrernte and English. 

Merne Mwerre is taken from the Arrernte language children’s album Ampe-mape Alyelheme (Kid’s Sing (https://open.spotify.com/artist/7H4Ki..., released in 2023. Ampe-mape Alyelheme (Kid’s Sing) was an undertaking by Children’s Ground to remedy the lack of children's music available in Arrernte language. Active since 2021, the Children’s Ground music project has been supported by contributions from founding member of The Cat Empire Harry Angus, Tinpan Orange’s Emily Lubitz and artists, families and educators local to Central Australia.

The music video was produced in collaboration with, and support from, Lemon Tree Media and Productions, Bill Raby Diabetes Fellowship, Australian Government Indigenous Language and Arts Program and ABC Kids.

Health and Wellbeing is one of the five key service platforms delivered by Children’s Ground in First Nations communities. This includes health promotion and prevention, nutrition, environmental health and support to access clinical health services, social and emotional wellbeing and traditional healing. The Health and Wellbeing platform aims to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children, their families, and the broader community. This includes recognising, respecting, and privileging local cultural knowledge systems and practices, and the agency of First Nations people. Visit https://childrensground.org.au/ for more information.