Reshaping The Narrative of Sustainability in Archipelago from Indigenous Knowledge
In the midst of climate change becoming a hot topic each day, it feels as if Indonesia is nowhere around it. A survey back in 2021 from Development Dialogue Asia showed that from a random sample of 3,490 Indonesians from 34 provinces, 88% of them claimed to have heard the term climate change but only 44% of them could define it correctly. Earlier this year, we also conducted a small survey which concluded that among 23 youth in Bali, Java, and Nusa Tenggara, only 8 of them said they are deeply concerned about climate change. This data probably resonates in our slow progress towards sustainability. When you can’t properly understand the real meaning of it, it is only natural when you can’t act on it. Hence the importance of putting the narrative of sustainability in the most proximity. To this challenge, Pratisara Bumi Foundation is keen to bring back what we already have because sustainability is essentially the very concept of Indonesians. There is too much proper knowledge and artifacts we have forgotten and left behind for the sake of modernity which now, should be picked up again.
The closest and truest meaning of sustainability to Indonesians
While the definition of sustainability is still strange to many Indonesians, in reality we have actually been living with it. Looking back to the way our ancestors lived without technology is the closest example of living sustainably. Blessed with riches in natural resources, Indonesians learned how to utilize them with limits. The dependency to nature and surroundings emphasized that the resources are essentially finite hence the obligation to protect them. These days, the protection mechanisms are most commonly known as traditions. For example, we know the indigenous in Papua and Maluku are still practicing sasi which actually is a way to avoid overexploitation of natural resources from both sea and land. This indicates that we have had a phase where our ultimate life goal is to live sufficiently. The concept of sufficient life has been disrupted over time that a lot of us tend to chase the maximum profit with minimum effort. With the imbalance that the modern lifestyle has resulted, now we are seeking our way back to our roots. To start small, we finally know now that sustainability in life means as simple as to have a sufficient life.
As an Indonesian, the concept of sufficient life itself has been told through the trilogy of human’s basic needs: sandang (clothing), pangan (food), and papan (home). In this concept, we are taught that physically we can survive as long as we have a home, wear a cloth, and consume what our body needs. Whereas mentally, we look for something to make us content and well (sadar). Therefore this philosophy gives deeper meaning that life sufficiency shall eventually lead us to happiness. We may have found this in some of our indigenous knowledge such as Tri Hita Karana where Balinese believe that humans can achieve prosperity when they can be harmonious with God, natural surroundings, and other human beings. Repeatedly, we just learned again how sustainability has always been among us and never once a bizarre concept.
Make indigenous knowledge & technology cool again through local artisanal products
While we are eager to bring back all the indigenous knowledge and make it relevant, we should be aware of how it might not be appealing enough to today’s generations. Many of these knowledge are passed on without written sources hence the difficulty of getting familiar with them. However, on our journey to encourage local champions to build sustainable businesses, we found people who work closely with the indigenous and local people to preserve the indigenous knowledge and technologies. They create cool artisanal products with deep philosophical meaning behind them that generate new waves in the market. They make the relearning of indigenous knowledge and technology finally feel close to home. They are who we call: the local artisans. Seeing them makes us believe that the most effective way to raise the awareness of sustainability is through artifacts - or basically, cool products through creativity and innovation.
Inspired from the philosophy of the basic needs to achieve sufficient life in the archipelago as the closest meaning to sustainable living for Indonesians, we wish to storytelling the integration of indigenous technology and artisanal products through four aspects:
Sandang (cloth)
It is obvious that fast fashion is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Our way of seeing clothes has significantly shifted from clothes as things to protect ourselves from the outside dangers to clothes as a commodity to help us keep up the trends. We lost our connection to what we wear, on the other hand we hope to create identity throughout the pieces we put on. This is why we need to relearn from the indigenous on how they value the clothes they do not only wear, but also make. The usage of natural materials which come from their surroundings and the utilization of the technology that has come from older generations are the best examples of how indigenous tech can answer today’s challenges on fighting against climate change. To see better examples, we want to look up to the local artisans in the fashion industry such as Handep and Sukkha Citta.
2. Pangan (food)
We may recognize the phenomenon of how the elders lived more healthily than we are today. What you may not realize is that the root cause is from the foods we consume. In this modern lifestyle, we pay very little attention to what we eat for the sake of just eating as basic needs. Meanwhile, we forget the way our ancestors lived was by being self-sufficient, such as having their own farms in their house to fulfill the daily food supply or as simple as practicing traditional and natural foods preservation. Back then we also had more food source options to get enough nutritions, but now they are getting limited because they no longer exist. Nowadays, we even have to import some foods to fulfill our basic needs. All of these good old habits are parts of the indigenous knowledge and tech we should bring back today to achieve the food sovereignty the nation once had and now dreams about. Gladly we have Ini Tempe, Lakoat Kujawas, and many more as good examples of local artisans in the food industry.
3. Papan (building)
While eco-buildings are becoming trendy nowadays, the concept of it is not considered new to Indonesia. If we take a deeper look at our traditional houses, they are built with the exact concept. Most of them are built with natural materials which people can easily find within their surroundings. More importantly, the buildings have to be climate resilient given the fact Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and floods. In addition, there are many other things for current architecture to adopt from the indigenous such as the natural air conditioning techniques that may have been done in the legendary Lawang Sewu and permaculture farming integration in Sarinbuana Eco Lodge.
4. Sadar (wellness)
The concept of achieving sufficient life means to bring wellness to our lives. At least that is what our traditions have been telling us. This is probably why Indonesia is famous for its wellness. Back then, our ancestors were deeply aware about herbal medicines and the natural healing process before chemicals and technology took place. The best examples of indigenous tech on wellness are none other than jamu which we can find in local artisans as Rahsa Nusantara and Rumah Reina. Or healing oils and aromatherapy that can be found in Rumah Atsiri.
References:
https://www.developmentdialogueasia.com/pesan-perubahan-iklim
https://bersiasat.id/sasi-and-indonesian-local-knowledge/
https://books.google.co.id/books?id=eKqvEZc8y3MC&pg=PA118&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://layakarchitect.com/earth-air-tunnel/
Writer: Esa Savitaresta Arnaya | Communication & Engagement Specialist