Kepa Kwab (Beautiful Water) is a new drink developed by 100 Indigenous youth as part of a Prepare Produce Provide program.

Boorloo-based Prepare Produce Provide is a not-for-profit organisation that creates and delivers food and hospitality programs for Indigenous young people across Western Australia.

The non-alcoholic canned soda is flavoured with ethically sourced native Australian traditional botanicals including wild rosella and finger lime, in consultation with leading Elder and edible native foods specialist Dale Tilbrook.

With no added sugar and subtly sweetened with stevia, Kepa Kwab is soft pink in hue and is refreshing in taste. It feels like drinking a cocktail without the negative side effects of alcohol or sugary mixes.

Each step of the four-year development of Kepa Kwab has involved Indigenous youth that began with ideation and included flavour profiling, foraging for botanicals, the Swan River story and song, artwork and design, and the product's launch event.

The striking black can is adorned with red, pink, burgundy coloured floralesque artwork, designed by artist and youth ambassador Molly West, a 19-year-old Nyikina woman (West Kimberley, WA).

"With art it's always telling a story, and the design of Kepa Kwab is telling the story of the ingredients inside, also the story of who helped create it and the waterways that come through," Ms West said.

"I adore the black background, it makes the artwork and the colours pop, and these are the colours of the ingredients, they are so beautiful and so bright and I really wanted to showcase those, and I love the pops of blue that highlight the design – it is a unique can."

Ms West has been involved with Prepare Produce Provide for three years.

Established in 2013, Prepare Produce Provide runs programs across WA with a vision to inspire vulnerable Indigenous youth to reach their potential through innovative food programs and hospitality.

Prepare Produce Provide founder and educator Cath MacDougall said developing Kepa Kwab has been a collaboration between many people.

"To have a beautiful drink that can help us navigate some of the spaces we work in with First Nations young people is really special," Ms MacDougall said.

Kepa Kwab is designed to fund and grow Prepare Produce Provide's parent program Djinda Ngardak, which provides mentoring and employment pathways for vulnerable youth.

Djinda Ngardak, which means 'coming alive under the stars' in Noongar, provides participants with real life hospitality experience preparing dinners and events that celebrate Indigenous ingredients and culture.

Ms MacDougall said that the organisation would like to be self-sufficient and not have to rely on grants.

"Developing Kepa Kwab this way with young people, gives them incredible real-world experience even if it takes twice as long and presents many curve balls, it's worth it when you see the kids empowered."

Through the Bilya Project, Kepa Kwab showcases the rich history and culture of the Derbyl Yerrigan (Swan River) through song, dance and storytelling.

Prepare Produce Provide partnered with the Bilya Project, a 15-week, artists-in-residence program at Bassendean Primary and Governor Stirling Senior High schools.

Bringing together students with Noongar elders, professional artists, and environmental scientists, the Bilya Project created immersive, site-specific, performance installations and digital stories with sensory narrative called "Ni! Derbyl Yerrigan Waanginy" (Listen! The Swan River is Speaking).

Maker of Kepa Kwab, Swan Valley based Funk Drinks Co, uses reverse osmosis water, a water purification process that separates water molecules from other substances such as chlorine and minerals, resulting in completely pure water.

"Our catchphrase is 'youth culture water' because without water, there is not community, there is nothing," Ms MacDougall said.

Prepare Produce Provide exhibited at the WA State Government's food and beverage trade fair, Meet the Buyer, in the hope to find distributors and stockists for Kepa Kwab.

"The kids involved in Kepa Kwab learn so much about business, and they already have a lot of knowledge without realising it," she said.

"And the other beautiful thing is that there is an underlying message of not drinking alcohol which doesn't even need to be said, it's impact without the gloves," Ms MacDougall said.

Kepa Kwab youth ambassador Rishaye Shaw said alcohol was prevalent growing up in the Kimberley.

"It's not a good thing. We need to break that cycle. Having Kepa Kwab and the stories behind it will be very impactful," Ms Shaw said.

"I'm working with young people from across WA and showing them, telling them, that it's okay to have doubts but you can really show yourself and bring forward who you are with culture.

"It's about connecting to culture and our Country. For young people we really need to have a connection to country to show who we are," said the 19-year-old.

Kepa Kwab is the first in a line of planned beverages that will showcase the stories of country across the regions of Western Australia.

Ms MacDougall said that the next drink, a Kimberley water, has been researched and is in the planning phase, and Prepare Produce Provide is currently seeking funding to bring it to fruition.