By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 30: Indigenous communities on Monday came together to discuss the significance of their traditional food systems during an event at Bangkok.
According to a statement here, the event was organised by The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP) with support from The Pgakenyaw Association for Sustainable Development (PASD) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia Office.
The meeting was preceded by a visit to Huay E Kang, a Karen village in Thailand, where participants from Rome, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Meghalaya observed an agroecological assessment of the community’s food system by the TIP and PASD.
On October 26-27, PASD also held the ROTATE Festival at Museum Siam, featuring food and culture exhibitions from seven Karen communities, along with discussions led by elders and women leaders.
TIP Coordinator Phrang Roy, while referencing findings from TIP’s TAPE Study involving 500 households across four countries, highlighted that Indigenous People’s food systems offer unique nature-positive solutions for people, biodiversity and climate resilience.
On the other hand, Dr. Prasert Trakansuphakon of PASD emphasised the vital role indigenous women play in safeguarding these systems.
He further said that organisations should also play a more proactive role to sensitise national governments with new proven data that highlights the role of indigenous communities in safeguarding global biodiversity.
The event included presentations on the TAPE assessment results across Mexico, Kenya, Northern Thailand, and Northeast India, where NESFAS International TAPE Coordinator Gratia Dkhar advocated for policy frameworks to protect these systems and ensure their sustainability.
“There is an urgent need to promote the interface between local knowledge and scientific knowledge and policies, and we hope and look forward to building partnerships to put these into actions,” she said.
Speakers, including ecologist Dr. Dhrupad Choudhury, shared insights into how indigenous people’s food systems enhance food security, nutrition and climate resilience.
Indigenous representatives, such as Richard Ranee from farmer from Nongtraw village, East Khasi Hills, and Karen elders from Thailand, detailed the essential role of women and the interdependence of people and forests in sustaining their communities.
Ranee shared his experience of living and farming in a village that can only be accessed by walking 4,000 steps down a steep mountain.
He talked of the importance of shifting cultivation in his village and shared how the local biodiversity of his village provides the villagers with food as well as medicine in the form of wild edible medicinal plants.
He also mentioned the important role played by women in his community who oversee that the natural resources and land are not overexploited and ensures that every household have equitable access to land.
On the other hand, the speakers from Thailand shared that for the Karen people, forests and people interrelated and thus are one and not two different entities.
They cited this connection as one of the main reasons why their communities were able to withstand COVID-19 pandemic without any shortage of food.
They then advocated for the magnification of the role of women in propagating healthy indigenous food to show the younger generations on how to appreciate local foods and its health benefits.
“The elders also talked about the importance of pollinators in creating food security and safeguarding biodiversity and sought support for helping protect and conserve pollinators, especially bees, in order to maintain the rich local biodiversity that supports the food systems of their communities,” the statement said.
During the event, opportunities for collaboration were also discussed, including seed-saving initiatives across Asia and support for conservation-aligned livelihoods.
This was followed by responses from the indigenous people present at the event, who called for stronger land rights and integrating Indigenous Food Systems knowledge into educational curriculums, fostering awareness and practical learning among the younger generation.