March 13, 2021. Do you know that some Indigenous Peoples’ Communities have a way of storing their rice for 25 to 30 years?
Ten members of the youth group in the Dumagat Remontado Indigenous Peoples’ Community of Tanay, Rizal joins 20 other young leaders from IP youth groups of Kasepuhan Pasir Eurih and Mollo Indigenous Peoples’ communities in Indonesia. The event was conducted semi-virtually, with participants from the same community physically together, and the 3 communities exchanging online. The event was co-organized by Indonesian NGOs RMI and Lakoat Kujawan, and Philippine-based FOs AFA and PAKISAMA, with financial support from VOICE Global and Youth and Land Asia. More than half of the participants from the Philippines were young women.
During the week-long meeting that started Monday, March 8, the 3 IP youth groups shared, through videos of their traditional songs, dances, and cultural performances, their traditional knowledge, and practices on farming, their language, culture, and beliefs, as well as the challenges they face as IP youth groups in a modernized world that dominate and bury these traditions and culture. Participants noted the similarities in their physical looks, the crops they plant, the plants they use as medicines, the tools and technologies they use in farming, even some words in their language.
“In school, some of us are embarrassed by our being Dumagat. We often try to keep silent about or hide it, otherwise, we will be teased by our schoolmates”, said Princess Carzada, one of the participants.
“We face a big issue in our community, as we are threatened by the construction of the Kaliwa mega-dam that will flood our land and displace us. However, as an IP youth, we are not acting on the issue because our elders do not involve us”, said Alvin Sta. Ana.
Participants learned the power of social media to raise public awareness about one’s culture and advocacies through an interactive discussion on the use of digital technologies. The session showed that although modernization and technology can bring negative impacts to IP culture, the IP youth has an opportunity to harness these tools to promote their culture to a wider audience as well as put forth the issues and challenges they face to build support from non-IPs.
As a result of this one week exchange, participants from the three communities expressed their plan to continue learning and promoting their culture through a collection of traditional local seeds and medicinal herbs and plants, collective gardening, establishing a local library, conducting art classes, making souvenirs for local tourism, and local product exchange.
Meanwhile, the Dumagat Remontado IP participants expressed their desire to form a youth group that will promote awareness and encourages action among their peers to support their struggle against Kaliwa Dam and engage the government to build a bridge that will allow them to cross the river to the main village.
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