Wayfinders Circle 2022 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 29
SELECTED INVESTMENTS
Sungai
Utik
INDONESIA
An elder in the long house serves as chief, and regulates the processes of cultivation, house building,
harvest ceremonies and customary law. Decision-making processes are carried out collectively, and decisions
are made by considering the ancestral customs, norms
and rules.
also the systems for protecting their territory (lands
and forests) collectively and sustainably.
The Sungai Utik community is revitalizing Indigenous
community economic institutions to strengthen guardianship over Indigenous territories and intergenerational
transmission in seven Indigenous communities in Kapuas
Hulu District.
The Dayak Iban community of Sungai Utik occupies
9,504 hectares and is one of seven villages of larger
Ketemenggungan Iban Jalai Lintang in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The traditional long house is some 216
meters long with 28 rooms accommodating more than
300 people, and is the heart of social, economic,
cultural, and political life. The long house terrace serves
as a place for traditional celebrations as well as
deliberations for joint decision-making. It9s a community
center where women weave or make handicrafts, and
is also used for drying rice, coconut, cassava or leaves.
One community-owned business entity4Bumma4was
formed in 2022 and features products including coûee,
rice, weaving, crafts and ecotourism. The new entity
has been working on institutional strengthening,
developing management systems, business plans, and
legal requirements as well as a website and communication materials.
Sungai Utik has switched from an individual communitybased approach to using an Indigenous collective
territorial-based approach in order to maximize
economic gains (with more communities participating).
This is proving more eûective in conserving the ecosystem, as communities are able to manage their territory
collectively. Their cultural landscape-based economic
development approach not only improves their, but
WAY F I N D E R S C I R C L E
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ANNUAL REPORT
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2022
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