Indigenous Sago Knowledge Restores Forests and Livelihoods in Papua

Communities in South Sorong are turning a traditional staple into new food products and income while restoring forests and strengthening Indigenous identity.

Indigenous communities in South Sorong are showing how traditional knowledge can help build sustainable food systems while creating livelihoods and restoring damaged forests.

Through community-led sago management, residents are transforming a traditional staple into flour, noodles, cookies, cakes, cendol, meatballs, and functional snacks. The initiative is also helping women, farmers, and young people earn additional income without leaving their ancestral lands.

The experience offers a relevant lesson for the Philippines, where a Manobo community in Caraga has established the country’s first Indigenous-led sago palm flour enterprise.

Protecting a crop tied to culture

For the Tehit Knasaimos people of South Sorong, sago is more than food. It is closely connected to their culture, identity, and relationship with their ancestral environment.

Their approach is guided by the philosophy “Tabraw’o mamfe teme,” which means, “The forest is our Mother.”

That relationship was threatened by illegal logging and the expansion of timber companies before the 2000s. These activities left parts of the community’s customary land barren.

The community began sago reforestation activities in 2018 and 2019 to restore degraded areas and improve the soil’s ability to absorb water. Residents had also consistently rejected palm oil development in their territory since 1996.

Women now lead seed selection and contribute to household food security, while younger residents are learning how to protect and continue traditional sago practices.

Turning sago into community enterprise

Twenty-three-year-old Ewil M. Woloil is helping advance this work through the Merdesa Village School, also known as SEKAM.

Created by the Bentara Papua Association, SEKAM provides an inclusive learning space where village youth can develop skills in sustainable natural resource management, food sovereignty, and community leadership.

Bentara Papua also established the Sira Bentara Papua Station in South Sorong. The station serves as a center for agriculture, food processing, organizational learning, and the empowerment of women and young people from the Knasaimos community.

Community members produce and develop sago products under the Tepung Sagu Mangsir brand.

The program initially faced challenges because many residents viewed sago mainly as food for household consumption. Limited market access also made some community members hesitant to process it commercially.

Training, product development, volunteer support, and promotional activities helped residents recognize its wider economic potential.

The station now assists producers with product permits and marketing strategies. Through the Kna Mandiri Cooperative, sago products are sold in souvenir shops across Sorong City and presented at provincial exhibitions.

Measurable benefits for people and forests

The initiative is producing economic, social, and environmental results.

According to the release, participating farmers and women’s groups now earn an average of IDR 1 million more from sago product sales than they did in 2018 and 2019.

Families use the additional income for household expenses and their children’s education, from elementary school through university.

Participation among women and young people has also increased by 60%, giving more residents opportunities to learn food processing and entrepreneurship.

Around five hectares of sago forest have been replanted since the initiative began. The restoration work has helped revive at least 11 companion tree species and protect four local sago varieties: Falya dla, Fa Sampe, Fablen, and Fanomik.

“Welfare does not have to come from destroying nature,” Sira Bentara Papua Station Coordinator Alink Syafril said, emphasizing the value of protecting the resources already available within the community.

The program follows a restorative economic model in which value generated from sago can support forest rehabilitation and strengthen community institutions.

A relevant lesson for the Philippines

Sago is familiar to many Filipinos as an ingredient in desserts and refreshments such as halo-halo and taho. Its potential, however, extends beyond these familiar uses.

The Manobo community’s sago palm flour enterprise in Caraga shows that the Philippines also has an opportunity to develop traditional crops through Indigenous-led businesses.

According to the source release, Asia-Pacific represented more than half of global sago revenue in 2023, with production in Indonesia and the Philippines contributing to the regional market.

The experiences of South Sorong and Caraga demonstrate that sustainable food development does not always require replacing traditional practices. It can begin by recognizing the knowledge communities already possess and helping them create greater value from local resources.

By connecting cultural knowledge with entrepreneurship, environmental protection, and youth participation, sago can support a food system that benefits both people and the forests they depend on.