I am a member of the Khasi Indigenous community, one of the matriarchal Indigenous Peoples of the State of Meghalaya of North‐East India. I am Coordinator of The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP), which was established in 2010 to be a network of Indigenous food communities committed to define and defend their own local food systems and agricultural practices that sustain agrobiodiversity and to enlist the support of scientists and policy researchers who value participatory agricultural research approaches. It initiated its work by holding food festivals in India, Mongolia, Kenya, and Thailand. In 2011, TIP became active in helping Slow Food International organize the first Indigenous Terra Madre in Jokkmokk, Sweden. Encouraged by this experience, in 2012, TIP took on the role of lead organizer of Indigenous Terra Madre 2015 (ITM 2015), held in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. The event was attended by a majority Indigenous delegation from all over the world and marked by a closing food festival that brought in more than 70,000 people—making it the first of its kind, and as one delegate remarked, “a rock show of agrobiodiversity.”
ITM 2015 showcased Indigenous traditional knowledge, evolving skills, and sustainable practices that safeguard natural resources and contribute to resilient, diverse food systems for a more humane and healthy future for all. It demonstrated that Indigenous communities can set positive examples for promoting the pleasure of sustainable and healthy food systems that are more socially, economically, and culturally just—where well‐being comes not from the accumulation of wealth but from our connectedness with each other. The event drew together Indigenous delegates (representing 169 tribes living in 64 countries) and their allies to raise issues and offer solutions for safeguarding their agroecological and culinary innovations, while bringing these ideas to mainstream international attention through a broad communications strategy. Plenary and thematic sessions at ITM 2015 were designed as forums to explore these concepts and to spark future collaborative initiatives, while the inauguration, field visits, and closing festival served to bring these concepts to vivid life. The event thus sparked discussions, spawned networks, and left delegates wanting to dig deeper on a conversation that only began to scratch the surface in Shillong.
The event served as a platform for these food communities to engage with scientists and policymakers on the theme of The Future We Want: Indigenous Perspectives and Actions. To promote such engagement, TIP had commissioned several preparatory studies to assess with Indigenous communities, their understanding of well‐being, agrobiodiversity, and nutritional status. These studies and reflections were presented at the event to explore some emerging concepts, to spark discussions, and consider future collaborative initiatives. We are grateful to Dr Harriet Kuhnlein and the members of the IUNS Task Force on Traditional, Indigenous, and Cultural Food and Nutrition for leading the research on the nutritional status among the Khasi Indigenous women and children in West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya and the Chakasang Indigenous women and children in the Phek District of Nagaland and for discussing some of the main findings of the papers compiled in this publication at one of the Panel Discussions of the ITM 2015 event. It is indeed heartening for a young Indigenous organization like TIP to be associated with the IUNS Task Force on Traditional, Indigenous, and Cultural Food and Nutrition and for being an inspiration for this publication.
The field work of TIP's Research Fellow Rachele Ellena and others has highlighted the nurturing role of women not only as plant gatherers, seed collectors, and cooks, but also as advocates and defenders of unique and diverse Indigenous food systems. The studies, however, also raised an alarm that modernization processes are locked into forces that threaten the traditional gender roles of Indigenous communities, their right to food, and their unique contributions to the well‐being of all. For us at TIP, this publication has spotlighted some very important research and raised awareness of key issues in promoting Indigenous women for food and nutrition security. We will carry these lessons forward as we continue to support Indigenous food communities around the world.
August, 2017
Roy P. Foreword. Matern Child Nutr. 2017;13(S3):e12549 10.1111/mcn.12549