The 2019 Samdhana Partners Meeting, 11 to 13 October 2019 in Pagerharjo Village, Samigaluh, Kulon Progo, Jogja was attended by around 50 participants, organizations and communities partner of Samdhana, from Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Molucca, and Papua. The meeting provided for participants and the community of Pagerharjo Village, who served as host and organizer of the event, a sharing, doing, and reflecting opportunity on food sovereignty, agroforestry, social inclusion, and the rights and livelihood of indigenous peoples and local communities.

During the three day event, the village youth organization AKRAPP Karang Taruna, the village’s tourism group, and the Village Government took the participants to producing and consuming local and healthy food and crafts, and promoting and marketing them in Sempulur Market, the
village’s plastic free, local and healthy, traditional market. In this market that runs every Saturday eversince, and in meetings with village administration and local organizations, exchanges and learning took place in farming and agroforestry: rootcrops, coffee, tea, cacao, vanilla, cloves, spices, palm and coconut, timber, sago, illipe nuts, pala (nutmeg), sorghum, and many more; in edu-tourism; and in social inclusion in exploring and promoting inclusive policies and programs in the village.

The discussions, the Agri-Cultural Market, the Edu-Tourism, and all the culinary, art, and cultural happenings of The 2019 Samdhana Partners Meeting is a gathering of learners and doers in reviving culture and indigenousity, knowledge and systems in managing lifescapes, culture and arts for sovereignty, dignity, and prosperity of indigenous and local communities.

This story was first published on "2019 Stories of Hope and Struggle" by The Samdhana Institute. Click here for more stories.