By H H Mohrmen
The recently concluded International Terre Madre (ITM 2015) or the International Mei-ramew has been a great learning experience not only because it was the first international event of that scale held in Shillong, but also because of the dialogue and discourse that took place in the various plenary sessions and track meetings which are vital for sustaining the indigenous way of life in different parts of the globe. Also equally important are the small talks and private discussions of the delegates on the sidelines of the meetings, which has enlightened and hopefully empowered the indigenous people and their supporters to continue in their efforts to protect and promote the indigenous way life.
The stage for the conference was set by the two important persons in the whole movement that is Mr Phrang Roy and Carlo Petrini. Phrang Roy the Coordinator of the Indigenous Partnership and Chairman of NESFAS in his opening remarks said, “Only by learning from these agroecological systems, can we begin to gather the building blocks we need to construct a “more humane and diverse world.” Agroecological system is the new buzzword in the indigenous people’s parlance and if one takes a closer look one can see that this system is at work even in the indigenous community here. To begin with we first need to unlearn the agriculture lessons we have learned from the government and to rediscover and relearn agroecological practices that have been practiced in the villages. We need to rediscover the traditional indigenous knowledge and practices which have sustained indigenous life since time immemorial.
Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food International warned of the devastation that will result if we continue to worship the idol of money. He rallied those who were in the conference to fight the globalization of a “criminal” food system and made a call to defend our unique fruits and vegetables, animal breeds and processing techniques. Now this worship of money is in the rise even in our indigenous community, the commoditization of different aspects of indigenous life is an example of commoditization where everything under the sun has a price tag to it.
We have also witnessed the loss of local seeds and animal breeds and this is happening right here right now. Look at the kind of crops that our farmers are cultivating; they are all hybrid or genetically modified seeds supplied by the government for commercial purposes. Where have our local indigenous seeds gone? Local rice is being replaced by commercial rice; our local cucumber variety is now being replaced by commercial cucumber; our local chillies/sohmynken/sohmrit is gradually missing from our dining table. Millet which was one of the traditional crops of the people, is not popular anymore. When we stopped millet cultivation we also lost parts of our culture and traditions like the ‘Long hai’ of the War Jaintia people which forms part of the jhum cultivation. We have recently been able to revive millet cultivation in Moosakhia village and it was a pleasant surprise when Anita Passah a relative from Shillong recently visited us and brought a cake made of millet. This is the kind of connection that we need to make to continue with our traditional farming for a better future of the farmers in the village.
The same is happening with chicken. Gradually local chicken breed is being replaced by broiler and kroiler chickens and now the government is introducing turkey and emus too. The hybrid and commercial breeds have invaded the market and in the process our indigenous chickens and pigs are gradually being abandoned. These are some of the crops and animals which are on the verge of extinction if we continue to promote hybrid and commercial seeds and animals. Watu Ferdinandus of the East Nusa Tenggara Local Food Farmers Association said, “Seeds are related to culture and identity; when the seeds are lost, culture is lost; seeds for the future to save our wisdom.” Seeds that we use and the crops that we plant also define us.
The other important lesson learned from the plenary secessions and different track sessions was about food. Food to the indigenous community is not only about satisfying our hunger; neither is it about taste only. Food also defines our identity and culture but more importantly there is a spiritual aspect of food in the indigenous community. The present generation might not connect food to the spiritual aspect but for the indigenous people spirituality is intrinsic to our planting and harvesting and also to eating. Food in the indigenous community maybe wild edible food that we collect from the forest or food that we farm but every kind of food we consume have their own stories to tell as much as they help replenish our nutritional needs.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in his video address, expressed dismay at the stage we have reached where we no longer see ourselves as being within nature, but standing apart from it. Indigenous people from around the world also have another characteristic in common and that is story telling. Story telling is a very important part of any indigenous culture. Every story they narrate is about the nature which they call mother and which they also consider to be a part of. The indigenous people have different ways of telling stories; in the track session Prof Desmond Kharmawphlang started the session by introducing to the audience traditional methods of storytelling of the Khasi-Pnar people. The concluding part of this track session was when Edgar Hinge member of the Vanuatu tribe demonstrated the use sand drawing to tell their folk stories. Indigenous people use different mediums to tell their stories. Rita Banerji of Green Hub shared her experience of how she helped indigenous people in North East tell their stories using digital format or video. China Ching, an indigenous Hawaiian, summed up this track meeting by saying that storytelling should also be “a process of reclaiming culture.” Since culture is neither linear nor static and our narratives are always evolving stories must continue to be told.
The second plenary introduced a preliminary research study into indigenous conceptions of and pathways to wellbeing that was conducted by the Indigenous Partnership, with the help of researcher Elizabeth Hacker. The study utilized storytelling as a methodology to identify priorities for wellbeing among agriculturalists in Meghalaya, North East India and pastoralists in Isiolo, Kenya. The findings from the study in these two communities is that well being is not the absence of problems; rather it stems from the combination of social harmony, cultural identity and the meeting of basic needs of the individual or the family.
Another important lesson learned from ITM 2015 is to use local products, eat local food and support the local economy. This perhaps is one of the ways to the future we want for the state of Meghalaya. It is only when local economy improves that we can see prosperity in the area grow and such growth will be inclusive. Growth should not be in the towns and cities only but it should also reflect in the more than 5000 villages in the state. Inclusive growth should be the mantra of the government and it must be demonstrated by state action.
The lessons learned and mentioned in this column are not exhaustive. They are only some observations from the plenary and track sessions that one can immediately recall. There are many sessions that one wished to attend but since the sessions were held parallel to each other one could not divide oneself physically and hence one had to attend only as many sessions as one possibly could. Also, these are lessons that immediately come to mind. One hopes to share more of what one learned from ITM in due course of time.
One lesson of great importance and that cannot be missed is that Shillong too can host international events and the credit goes to Phrang Roy, the NESFAS team and the 40 communities which co-hosted the ITM 2015. Perhaps another idea that one can also learn from the ITM 2015 is to sell Shillong as a convention or a conference destination. Many cities in the west with good convention centres, hotels and guest houses to accommodate visitors usually attract national and international organizations to organize important events in their city. We would do well if organizers select Shillong as venue for their future meetings. With the kind of climate we have and a welcoming community, Shillong could very well be a candidate for upcoming conferences and conventions. This has a cascading effect and could generate employment for several hundreds of young people.