Sintang, October 03, 2025 – Across many parts of Asia, flavor is not just a matter of taste; it is a legacy, an identity, and a reflection of the human connection to nature. In Southeast Asia, the rich spices and traditional cooking techniques passed down through generations thrive due to the abundance of local food sources, including forests, fields, rice paddies, and rivers. However, climate change and the exploitation of natural resources are now threatening the continued availability of these local food sources.
In the Philippines, 2025 food security efforts increasingly focus on empowering communities and reviving indigenous farming. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has set ambitious goals, including raising rice output to 20.46 million metric tons and cutting post-harvest losses. Still, grassroots initiatives best reflect the nation’s wisdom. In Mindanao and the Cordillera, farmers cultivate traditional rice varieties like Tinawon and Unoy through ancestral practices that value biodiversity, seed saving, and communal labor. These methods have shown resilience to climate shocks and market shifts.
Local governments also play a vital role, tailoring strategies to community needs, building farm-to-market roads, supporting seed banks, and facilitating food-sharing networks. As the Philippines stands at a crossroads, food remains more than sustenance; it is a cultural and ecological legacy to protect and pass on.
Nature as the Anchor of Dayak Desa Tribal Cultural Heritage
In the midst of this global vulnerability, Indonesia has the opportunity to preserve local practices that have long adapted to natural change. In West Kalimantan, renowned for its rainforest and biodiversity, generational knowledge of farming, forest harvesting, and natural food processing has guided communities toward a regenerative food ecosystem. The Sintang Regency government supported the community effort through the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan (RENSTRA) allocating 2.16 million hectares for sustainable agriculture, an area 3.7 times the size of Bali.
Yet this wisdom risks being lost without wider recognition. To address this, Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari (LTKL), together with youth centers in Sintang and Sanggau, launched the ExploNation program that invites content creators to showcase the link between local culture and conservation. Among them is La Ode, a top 10 contestant from MasterChef Indonesia Season 8, that explored Sintang’s cuisine shaped by Dayak, Malay, and Chinese influences. The exploration includes La Ode’s trip to Rimba Gupung and Kapuas River, discussing with local food activists in Sintang. ,.
"The trekking trip to Rimba Gupung was a thrilling experience, discovering the Akar Bajakah (Bajakah Root), which can be drunk directly and is believed to have health benefits. We also harvested red fern shoots to be cooked for dinner with residents at Rumah Betang Ensaid Panjang. This made me realize how important it is to maintain the sustainability of the forest ecosystem, so that the inherited knowledge about roots, leaves, and fruits can continue to be utilized and the regeneration of culture remains unbroken," said La Ode.
He also stayed at Rumah Betang Ensaid Panjang, a communal home of 33 Dayak Desa families, where he learned how the community processes and stores ingredients from the Rimba Gupung. La Ode said, "The unforgettable experience was processing ikan pekasam (fermented fish) and mashed sweet potato leaves with the women of Ensaid Panjang Village. I learned that the effort to protect and restore nature is not only important for the environment but also contributes significantly to nurturing the culture passed down through generations. From that process, I realized that local food, sourced from the surrounding nature and processed with traditional wisdom, holds a much deeper value. It's not just food, but also a part of our cultural identity."
Building Capacity to Drive the Local Economy
As part of the ExploNation agenda, La Ode led a "Food Content Taking and Storytelling" workshop for 14 young people from Sintang, Sanggau, and Kapuas Hulu Regencies. This training helped them hone storytelling skills and develop communication materials rooted in local culture, with the goal of empowering them as community narrators supporting West Kalimantan’s restorative economy.
Kurniawan, Head of the Sintang Regional Development Planning Agency (BAPPEDA), stated, "We highly appreciate the enthusiasm of the young people in this activity as a tangible effort to promote the natural and cultural richness of Sintang. This initiative is a crucial step in raising awareness of the local cultural heritage and its relevance in protecting and restoring the environment for the well-being of the entire community."
The role of Sintang's local food has proven to contribute significantly to the creative economy and tourism sectors, which are the main pillars of the regional economy. This was evident in the 2025 Sintang Creative Economy and Culinary Exhibition, which involved 199 business actors and recorded total transactions of more than Rp2 billion in one week.
La Ode added, "Restoring the environment means restoring our own cultural roots. I believe the future of Sintang's food lies in our courage to see nature not as an object of exploitation, but as a source of life that must be cared for."
In the spirit of the ExploNation program, La Ode worked with residents to document Sintang and West Kalimantan food recipes. This step not only preserves Sintang's culinary heritage but also strengthens food security by anchoring it in culture amid modernization By encouraging the community to re-appreciate and develop local food ingredients, this initiative also creates innovative economic opportunities that involve farmers and businesses. This entire ecosystem contributes to the creation of a more self-sufficient, diverse, and sustainable food system.
The ExploNation program is expected to trigger a broader movement for environmental restoration, emphasizing the importance of a restorative economy as a development model that restores nature while also preserving culture. Through this approach, local food becomes not only an essential part of regional identity but also a sustainable economic pillar that ensures natural resources remain productive and protected, while strengthening the local community's identity and well-being.
Comments