A Growing International Presence

In August, the first Global Environments Summer Academy was conducted at the Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich, jointly sponsored by GDF and the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. Meanwhile, we worked on creating a stronger presence in the United States by developing relationships with like-minded partners. We are collaborating with the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (University of California at Berkeley) on a future Global Diversity Workshop for Native American professionals. In addition, we participated in a panel session on Partnerships for Indigenous Rights at the Bioneers Conference last October in San Rafael, California.

Cultural Survival, an organization that partners with indigenous communities around the world to defend their lands, languages, and cultures, highlighted issues and efforts of the Dusun communities of Ulu Papar in Southeast Asia (Sabah, Malaysia) in their Cultural Survival Quarterly fall issue. An article entitled ‘Conservation Begins at Home’ drew attention to community efforts in establishing an ICCA in Ulu Papar, instilling much pride in the community members themselves for the recognition it gave to their important cause. As our team in Southeast Asia continues to work with Ulu Papar community members to build capacity in recognizing and spreading awareness of the importance of the cultural and ecological richness of Ulu Papar, such feature stories assist in garnering further support to conserve their land and protect their property rights.

Community Roadshow to Ulu Papar

Community researchers have conducted two legs of the Ulu Papar Roadshow, travelling to villages of Ulu Papar from 10-19 August and 18-19 September. The villages of Podos, Longkogungan, Kalanggaan and Pongobonon were visited during the first leg, and villages of Buayan, Tiku and Timpayasa were visited subsequently.

Community researchers applied interactive techniques to deliver their messages based on the theme, ‘Ulu Papar: A Shared Biocultural Heritage Site. Roadshow activities aimed to heighten appreciation of the unique biocultural values of Ulu Papar. In highlighting the role of traditional knowledge and traditional ways of life in the conservation and management of resources and landscapes, community members immersed themselves in an enjoyable collection of action-oriented techniques such as games, puzzles and sing-a-long music videos.
 

Building on this successful approach, community researchers plan to revisit Ulu Papar villages to conduct yet another chapter of the roadshow in Jan 2012 that will focus on returning Darwin research results, developing a zoning plan for Ulu Papar in support of the biosphere reserve nomination and the community use zone.

To have a look at images taken during the first leg of the roadshow, please visit the Ulu Papar Community Roadshow (GDF-SEA) album on our GDF FaceBook Page.
 

Dusun Communities of Kinabalu Plan to Return to their Sacred Site - Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran 2011

Almost one year ago, on 3 December 2010, the Dusun communities from the villages of Bundu Tuhan and Kiau conducted a pilgrimage to Mount Kinabalu, in the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. About 100 community members set off early in the morning, after the monolob ritual was completed. Performed for the first time in a long time, monolob is a ritual to seek permission from the spirit world to grant safe passage to the community members about to embark on the pilgrimage.

The event, referred to in the Dusun language as Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran (Return to Kinabalu), was a special occasion for the villagers as it was the first time since 1964 when Mount Kinabalu and its surrounding area was gazetted as a Park that they were given free access to the mountain, a site held sacred to them for millennia. According to ancestral beliefs, this area is where the spirits of the dead stop to rest as they journey to the afterlife. The mountain is extremely important, not just for its natural beauty and the abundant natural resources needed for subsistence, but also as a source of identity and spirituality for the indigenous communities living around it.

The highest mountain in geographical Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu is world-renowned as a global biodiversity hotspot, a prime tourism destination, and declared Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site in 2000. Unfortunately, the highland Dusuns of the Kinabalu region lost their ancestral access to the mountain and its natural resources when it was gazetted as part of the National Park system. The gazettement turned it into a fully protected area, managed by the State Government of Sabah under the jurisdiction of Sabah Parks.

Dusun Elders Voice Out their Concerns

In March 2010, after nearly 50 years with strict restrictions governing access to Mt. Kinabalu and its natural resources, and amidst growing numbers of tourists and rising access fees making it unaffordable for community members to access the mountain unless they worked as porters or guides, indigenous Dusun elders discussed their sadness and sorrow with park authorities. In their own words, they stated:

"... we do not want the mountain back. It is a heritage for the world, and for that, we are proud and happy to share this mountain with everyone."

"We would like to have one day to return to the mountain."

"Every year, each year, we want to have one day just for our communities to make a pilgrimage to the mountain. A day when no one else will be allowed to climb the mountain. A day just for our people."

The pleas to be allowed to return to the mountain and re-establish their connection with the sacred place did not go unheard. Sabah Parks agreed to the requests, and Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran was born. Sabah Parks agreed to allocate one day a year for the indigenous Dusun people living around the mountain to conduct a pilgrimage and climb Mount Kinabalu. Although the mountain will not be closed to other climbers on this day, it is hoped the strength of this pilgrimage will inspire more public support and grow into a festive celebration of highland Dusun culture so that, in future, it will be possible to convince the authorities to make Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran a day that truly responds to the request of the elders, “...when no one else will be allowed to climb the mountain. A day just for our people”.

Barely a year into practice, Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran has already become an occasion that galvanises unity amongst the Dusun communities in the region, now charged with reviving an increasingly vanishing understanding amongst the younger generation. It is about re-awakening their spiritual connection with the mountain and revitalising a deep cultural knowledge of what Mount Kinabalu, and all the forests that surround it, represents to them.

In mobilising the spirit of community collaboration, village representatives come together to discuss and set the direction and content of community-related decisions. The most important thing for them is to renew and share the customary values of their original culture, as had been agreed upon by the elders. 

The First Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran

From 2 to 3 December 2010, the first Community Day and Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran was held in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary celebrations for the Kinabalu Park World Heritage status. According to Sabah Parks, about 7,000 people from all walks of life attended the celebrations, including State Ministers, the Sabah Parks Board of Trustees, heads of departments, government officers, members of the press, foreign tourists, and people from all over Sabah. Amidst the activities featured during the 10th Anniversary celebrations, the Community Day and Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran stood out as a collaborative effort between park management and Dusun communities, which inspired many community members and Sabahans in general.

As co-hosts, community members worked together to ensure the success of Community Day 2010, which comprised of activities held at the Kinabalu Park premises. Themed “Living with Natural Resources”, Community Day activities aimed to enable greater participation from a wide spectrum of communities to share and revitalize their cultural knowledge with activities such as cultural performances, living demonstrations of craft-making, and community markets selling forest vegetables and displaying objects of cultural significance, as well as having community members describe customs and practices of the past. About 100 community members, all on a voluntary basis, were actively involved in organizing the Community Day activities.

Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran, which refers to the pilgrimage itself, was a more private affair attended by community members, park officials, selected members of the press and close associates.

Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran 2011

Sabah Parks and representatives from the communities from the region have formed an organising committee to plan the next activity. Scheduled for 2 and 3 December 2011, it is expected that this year’s Community Day and Kakakapan id Gayo Ngaran will enable more community members to climb Mount Kinabalu and revisit the places and memories that are important for them. The aim is to continue developing this program over the years, adding more activities and exploring different ways to enable the indigenous people of the Kinabalu region to come back to the mountain.






 

Training Herbalist Researchers at Lalla Aouda

During her Connecticut College-sponsored internship this summer with GDF, Joanna Smith was involved in all the projects conducted by GDF in the region. This includes the development of a database containing the results of field research conducted by students from the all-girls Lalla Aouda high school in Marrakech. The creation of a database follows the ethnobotanical research conducted throughout the last academic year by thirty Lalla Aouda students, who went into the Marrakech Medina to interview Marrakechi herbalists on important cultural recipes.

In a continuing effort with GDF-North Africa even after the completion of her internship, Joanna is now assisting to organize the database of the girls’ findings, titled “An Ethnobotanical Study of 5 Traditional Women’s Recipes”. All the traditional compositions collected in the field are available in the herbarium at the school. The girls will be able to re-examine, analyze, and discuss their own data, which is in line with the project’s aim to build an educational framework at the school that allows students to explore their own city’s rich ethnobotanical traditions. Information from the database will published in a brochure for Lalla Aouda students and other residents of Marrakech.