"Denik, stands for Made Cenik or the youngest Made,[1] in short Denik" said Mbok Denik explaining the origin of her nickname. Ni Made Puriati was born in Mengwi, Bali, and came from a family of farmers and construction workers.

Panika, the headdress of the Higaonon women, symbolises a sacred responsibility to champion their cultural heritage. Not any Higaonon woman can wear the panika. She has to make the commitment, and be recognized as a conduit of continuing the Higaonon traditions. Pusaka pertains to precious resources, both tangible and intangible, that remains in the Higaonon’s ancestral territories.

In an area near the city of Soe, in South Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, three indigenous tribes belong together in a circle called as the Tiga Batu Tungku community, which consists of the tribe Mollo, Amanuban, and Amantun. These three tribes are all part of a workgroup called as Kelompok Kerja OAT (Pokja OAT) or the A’taimamus Ama Organization. The history of how this workgroup is established is firstly driven by the presence of a mining operation in Mollo District that made the local community felt that they were being exploited by them in 1995.

The year 2020 is the year of reflection and resilience, our organization and partners remain hopeful and work tirelessly through these hard times. Through the release of the Story of Hope and Struggle vol #1 2020, we wish to share with you not only stories of struggle that bring out the best in people but also how a story on the power of collaborative action can reflect our, you and the people hope to reappear. 

The indigenous Tagbanwa of Calawit Island in Calamianes, Palawan suffered from harassment and forcible removal from their ancestral domains in the 1970’s during martial law in the Philippines. They were stripped off of their right to manage their territory and to benefit from its bounty. Because of their relocation, the community gradually changed their daily way of life to adapt to the environment different from what they were used to. The indigenous Tagbanwa culture was also slowly erased from the memory of the mamepet or elders.

What’s in a name? For the Tagbanwa people, a person’s or a place’s name signifies his/its unique feature or most abundant asset. Names in the indigenous peoples’ dialect are used to prove their occupation of their ancestral domains and eventual recognition of their right to manage it as provided in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in the Philippines.

The Sempulur Market is an agri-cultural community market that Samdhana Institute initiated in Pagerharjo Village, Samigaluh, Kulonprogo, Jogja during the 2019 The Samdhana Institute Partners Meeting (October 11-12) and Samdhana-supported The Pioneers Jamboree (October 13-19). The market’s official inauguration was carried out by Kulon Progo Vice Head of District, Drs. H.

Dear friends, colleagues and partners

The year before has been a very different year for all of us – challenging our individual commitments, abilities, creativity, patience, and sanity. I wanted to share these reflections with you all as we end a very unusual year and wish you a better year ahead.