Patricia Mukhim
The ITM 2015 which was conceived four years ago has finally come to fruition. For the team at the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) which has been at the helm of this event it is a culmination of many hours of hard work, sleepless nights, tensions, anxieties, last minute changes, adjustments and so many unforeseen hiccups. It is not easy for a small organisation to put together a programme of this scale and to coordinate the travel of over 600 people from diverse parts of the globe. Just organising their visas and travel is a huge task but the Government of Meghalaya has been phenomenal in their support for this programme. Mr Sampath Kumar, IAS the liaison person from the State Government’s side is the rock of Gibraltar. Throughout the 3-day event at North Eastern Hill University, Sampath Kumar was seen keeping track of the logistics and ensuring that the national and international delegates did not face any problems. This is a fine example of Government teaming up with an NGO to host an event of such a momentous scale.
It goes to the credit of the quiet, demure Mr Phrang Roy and his small yet dedicated team of workers who functioned out of a small office that they have been able to pull off this magnificent event which brought the world to Meghalaya. The theme of ITM 2015 is, “The Future We Want,” and the deliberations centred around this theme as Indigenous Peoples cogitated on it, shared their concerns about the onslaught of multinational companies on their farming cultures and the loss of food biodiversity. This time Dr Jen Astone, Executive Director of Swift Foundation, USA shared with the audience the meaning and purpose of Agroecology. For many this is a new concept but after listening to the session on Agroecology one understands that it about maintaining a productive agriculture that sustains yields and optimizes the use of local resources while minimizing the negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of modern technologies. Industrialisation ushered in modern agricultural practices for bigger yields by maximizing high-input technologies. This has resulted in environmental and health problems that often do not serve the needs of producers and consumers. In developing countries, in addition to promoting environmental degradation, modern agricultural technologies have bypassed the circumstances and socio-economic needs of large numbers of resource-poor farmers. Perhaps the lesson from Dr Aston’s session is for us to go back to nature with a more reverential attitude and not see this planet only as a resource to be exploited but as the “Mother”. And who exploits a mother?
The session titled, “Are today’s matriarchal communities societies of peace?,” caused some flutter. The participants in the room who are from matriarchal societies themselves wondered why three of the five panellists should be male. One farmer from Ethiopia wondered why the panellists should be doctorates and intellectuals. “Where are the voices of ordinary women from matriarchal societies?” he asked. A Maori lady who was present at the same session found it too academic and Eurocentric. Others felt that the discussions did not really dwell on the theme of how matriarchies can become harbingers of peace. A male panellist from Colombia made it worse when he said that women in his community are not given political power because they are too emotional and not rational. This drew a chorus of protest from the women in the room. A participant from Mexico wanted to know from the panellists as to what was the value placed on women as keepers of seeds and holders of knowledge. She said there is a power play even in matriarchies that keeps women subservient and allows men to exercise control. For those of us who are used to this debate it sounds like a familiar refrain. The Maori lady, Hinewirangi Kottu Mougav of the Ngati Kahunguwo tribe later told me she works in prisons and has seen several men who don’t know how to release their emotions. “Men hold their emotions very badly and it is my task to help them channelise those emotions without destroying them.” It was also shocking to learn from her that in New Zealand out of 4.5 million people only 15% are indigenous and the rest 74% are Europeans. Of the 15 % of Indigenous people, 60% are incarcerated in prisons. They include men, women and youth. “It’s insidious,” she said. It made me dwell on our own condition and how better protected we are by the Constitution, at least for the present, but one never knows about the future.
I chaired a session on ‘Creative Communication Approaches for Indigenous Issues’ and was delighted with the presentations from Nagaland, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Arunachal Pradesh and Central India. Inoto Nawang Khulu from Nagaland documented the practice of tattoos among the Konyaks and the narratives behind that. Bao Wako of PNG showed how food is linked to culture and how documenting the way food is prepared indigenously helps deconstruct the Eurocentric perceptions of food. “Food is an expression of who we are,” Wako said. I was particularly impressed by Shobhit Jain of Community Media’s work. He has empowered the farmers with whom he works by providing them with cameras, giving them intensive training on how to handle complex cameras, teaching them to edit their work so that their films get international recognition. For him community media actually means empowering the community to tell their own stories the way they want to without any outside manipulation. We learnt from Luis Arturo of Ecuador how important community radio is to communicate with the world and also to help archive the contents that document their stories, including their recipes.
The problem with parallel sessions is that one cannot attend all of them. In between there are the taste workshops after which chefs come out with their concoctions and allow the delegates to taste what they have prepared. Chef Joel Basumatari of Nagaland gave us a taste of insects like riverbed beetles and grasshoppers and eri silk worms while Sunita Rao of Karnataka made ant chutney. The faint-hearted may baulk at these foods but they happen to be real food for many who have survived on them for centuries. One of the objectives of the ITM is also to show healthy respect for one another’s food cultures and food histories.
The session, ‘Around the Loom: Eri Silk Weaving’ was educative. The women weavers demonstrated to us what goes into the production of one “Thoh-rew stem,” and how with the support of GIZ and NESFAS so many of these weavers from Umden, Mustoh and other places have been able to add value to the shawls/stoles/mufflers through a combination of designs and colours and therefore get a better price for them.
And in the hustle and bustle of this huge gathering of there was Michael Syiem displaying the Mylliem locks which he says is now a dying trade. Many flocked to his stall to understand more about these iron locks that once kept out homes secure.
It is difficult for anyone, even a journalist, to record everything about this 3-day event which will culminate in the Slow Food Festival at Mawphlang and which is expected to draw huge crowds. Phrang Roy deserves all credit for this spectacular event. So too the Government of Meghalaya, the volunteers who were so well trained to assist the delegates with every little thing! I salute the women who toiled hard to keep the toilets clean. They have shown us that true meaning of, “Dignity of Labour” and indeed performed a labour of love. They took pictures with the delegates especially those adorned in their colourful traditional costumes. And truly what a sight to behold! If there is one thing about indigenous people that makes them stand out it is the colour of their costumes whether they are male or female. And just because they are farmers they don’t feel they need to be dull and colourless. The delegates from Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Africa, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Russia painted the event with colours. It’s not that indigenous peoples have no problems. They have loads of them but that does not dim their view of life.
On Thursday while speaking at the session on “Supporting Agroecology and Agrobiodiversity for the Future of Food,” Phrang Roy made a remarkable statement. He said, “Eighty percent of biodiversity is in Indigenous Peoples lands and they have been the gatekeepers of this biodiversity despite all attempts by multinationals to barge in. Most governments too have never accepted that scientific knowledge needed to be blended with traditional knowledge. The future we want is one where governments will listen to the voices of the people because they know best what form of agricultural practice and food production works for them and they have been practicing Agroecology for hundreds of years.”
There are many who wonder what this event is all about. It is about food and sustainable farming practices keeping the health of the ecosystem in mind. It is about food sovereignty where we are not pushed to buy the food that multinationals peddle to but the freedom to choose and enjoy our palates with greater reverence for nature.