Festivals and Celebrations
Ata children during a Traditional Dance demonstration during the Pamaw-a Indigenous Food Festival in Negros Occidental, The Philippines. (Photo: Gabriela Alvarez)
Change is created, and things are conserved, through information, analysis and economic-based decision-making, but change and conservation also grow from well-being, joy and what we love. People and Plants works with communities and others to celebrate and shore up integral parts of their cultures and traditions that bring communities together around food and drink, music and dance, games, seasons and landscapes, shared histories and a sense of place.
cultural festival in ecuador
Boberas, Ecuadorian Amazon – October, 2024
People and Plants partner Sacha Warmi held a cultural festival in the community of Boberas, located 8 hours from the city of Puyo, traveling along the Bobonaza River. This festival is part of a process to document and celebrate Kichwa culture and territory. It was part of the annual General Assembly of the Kichwa People of Pastaza, with more than 200 participants. Learn more.
Pamaw-a Indigenous food festival
Negros Occidental, The Philippines – October 2022.
People and Plants partner SPNKK, together with the Manara Tribal Council, held the Pamaw-a Ata Indigenous Food Festival in Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental in The Philippines. There were over 200 participants from Aeta, Agta, Ata and Ati communities.
The Festival included a children’s workshop, a cooking competition, skills demonstrations and indigenous games, and a dialogue forum with Ata communities and government agencies.
Pamaw-a provided a platform for joyful celebration of the Ata ancient cuisine and other aspects of community cultural heritage. It is part of a larger effort directed at building resilience among the Ata communities of Negros Occidental, that is working to boost:
Cultural revival, with a focus on nutritious and tasty traditional cuisines;
Cross-generational transfer of traditional knowledge, and sharing of stories, poems and songs;
Awareness of the intrinsic connection between cultural identity, wild food availability and ecosystem conservation.
This event was organized with the following partners and supporters: Office of the Provincial Governor of Negros Occidental; Municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto; Provincial DENR; Northern Negros National Park (NNNP); National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); Sofronio Carmona Memorial National Highschool; Bagong Silang Elementary School; Center of Development for Teacher Education, St. La Salle University; Technological University of The Philippines; KusinAta Restaurant and the Rutu Foundation.
CELEBRATION OF TRADITIONAL FOOD & CULTURE FESTIVAL
Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia – August 2022
School children in traditional clothes from the Dayak Iban and Embaloh tribes presenting a variety of traditional foods to be served to the participants of the Festival.
(All photos by: Bebek)
People and Plants partner Riak Bumi held the Traditional Food and Culture Festival in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan. In an effort to share knowledge across generations, the four-day event included an extended two-day children’s program, a cooking competition, storytelling, traditional games, music and dance. There were over 350 participants including school children, government officials, community groups, and religious leaders.
The Festival provided a platform to celebrate traditional cuisines and the cultural heritage of the Malay and Dayak communities from the Batang Lupar, Badau and Embaloh districts of the Kapuas Hulu regency, through:
Cultural revival, focusing on nutritious and delicious traditional foods from the forest;
Cross-generational transfer of oral history, stories, poetry, sports, traditional music and dance;
Promoting harmony, social cohesion and solidarity between ethnic groups and religions;
Increasing awareness of the intrinsic relationship between cultural identity, availability of food from the wild and conservation of ecosystems.
This event was organized with the following partners and supporters: Die Lange Tafel Berlin; Malay, Dayak Iban, Embaloh and Kayan communities; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); Indigenous Peoples Alliance (AMAN); Conservation of Wetland Biota; Regent of Kapuas Hulu; Head of the Batang Lupar District; Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum National Park Center (BBTNBKDS) and representatives of the West Kalimantan Governor's office.
Traditional Food Festival pastaza province, ecuador
Tzatzapi Community, March 2022
Sacha Warmi held a food festival in March 2022 at the headquarters of ACIA – the Association of Indigenous Communities of Arajuno – located in northwest Pastaza province in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The festival celebrated indigenous farming and forest management systems, and provided an opportunity for families to share knowledge and exchange products.
Traditional Food Festival, Indonesia
West Kalimantan, Indonesia – September 2019
The Traditional Food Festival, West Kalimantan, awaiting the judges' evaluation of the cooking contest. At center, National Park Head, Ir. Arief Mahmud. (Photos by: Wahyu Widhi)
The Traditional Food Festival took place in September 2019 in Lanjak, Kebupaten Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan. The event was organized by Yayasan Riak Bumi with help from Jenne de Beer, People and Plants Associate, in partnership with the local government and Bitung Kerihun/Danau Sentarum National Park. This was the third such festival, following one in 2014 and another in 2016. The two-day program, attended by hundreds, celebrated the rich food traditions of the Malay and Dayak communities in this corner of Indonesia, near the border with Sarawak, and included, among many activities:
An exhibit of wild food ingredients, herbal medicines, craft items and information materials, and a demonstration of illipe, tengkawang, nut oil processing. Illipe oil is derived from the nuts of endemic Shorea species and produces an excellent oil for frying foods or as a natural ingredient in cosmetics. Yayasan Riak Bumi is hosting a local community network which aims, in partnership with the provincial government, to revive the trade in this amazing forest product.
A cooking contest, incorporating a large variety of local, specialty ingredients, in which 100 women and men from 23 Malay and Dayak communities participated.
A blow pipe shooting competition for youth and adults.
Children’s drawings and posters with the theme our healthy food from nature, the forests, rivers and lakes
Community mapping of the Danau Sentarum ecosystem, including its food resources and wildlife.
Various food ingredients and medicinal plants from the forest.
People and Plants Associate Jenne de Beer tasting dishes at a cooking contest organized as part of a Traditional Food Festival in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Photo: Wahyu Widhi)
Winners of the cooking competition.
Rice is cooked in a pitcher plant and decorated with torch ginger flowers.
Read more about the Festival here and find out about the Tengkawang Oil used to cook the dishes of the Food Competition.
Rediscovering indigenous lifestyles through wild food and culture
A special event, as part of Indigenous Peoples’ day at the 8th Negros Island Organic Farmers’ Festival in Bacolod, The Philippines.
cultural revival festival in Malay, Aklan, The Philippines
Ata healer/midwife Marita Mahinay from Negros Occidental, cooking during the Ribo (dream) Cultural Revival Festival. (Photo: Yasmin Arquiza)