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By Rucha Chitnis Institutional philanthropy, in a nutshell, is a Western construct. Often it can seem transactional, likened to a business deal when funders strategize about returns on investment and the ever-present question of scale. Wealth remains in the hands of few, who are disconnected from the realities of Indigenous communities fighting oil pipelines, extracted

The partners of Pawanka Fund have been doing inspiring work in promoting, protecting and enhancing traditional knowledge as integral to indigenous peoples’ culture, ways of life and innovations. Each partner has a story to tell. These include indigenous women who are struggling to keep their handicraft skills alive and vibrant, preserving seeds for food security;

The jumia/jhumia are cultivators engaged in hillside agriculture which has been a traditional practice in Chittagong Hill Tracks in Bangladesh. Jum or shifting cultivation has been the  only  livelihood  means  for  around  50% of the marginal and  landless  farmers  living  in  the  remote  hills, which has been regarded by the  government and some sectors as

The Waiapu catchment is the sacred ancestral river of the Māori people. The symbiotic relationship of the catchment and the indigenous people’s cultural wellbeing is of primary concern. When the  New Zealand government was established in  1853, and  subsequent  local  governments were formed, the management and decision making for the freshwater  and  natural  resources of 

Sharing stories through traditional chants and dances is an important and meaningful interaction and learning process. The participants looked back with gratefulness at this project as they saw the relevance of these cultural forms breathed life to the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next.  In the island of Oahu in Hawaii, traditional

Article 12 of the UN Declaration  on  the  Rights  of  Indigenous  Peoples (UNDRIP) states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use

A Library of Indigenous Knowledge of Place The Indigenous peoples or First Nations of the Northwest, particularly in British Columbia are renowned for their epic wood sculpture and carvings, notably their totem poles. This artistic tradition can be traced to their ancient ways of transmitting their genealogies, cultural knowledge and native science.  When a group

For a long time, the communities in Preah Vihear province of Cambodia were  completely  dependent  on  natural  resources  that  provided  them  sufficient  food and other needs. There was solidarity among the people. But in recent years, climate change caused drought, floods, storms, irregular rainfall and temperature throughout the year, severely affecting food production, cultural and

The partners of Pawanka Fund have been doing inspiring work in promoting, protecting and enhancing traditional knowledge as integral to indigenous peoples’ culture, ways of life and innovations. Each partner has a story to tell. The Pawanka Calendar 2019 illustrates some of the work of its partners and indigenous wisdom and thoughts to draw inspirations

The opening ceremony had village chiefs, local  authorities, forestry  officers,  and  community  leaders in attendance. The highest  clan  “Rai  Oan” or Son of  the  Land led the ritual, assisted  by  “Uma  Dato” or House  of  the  Leader who implements  the customary law, and  “Lia  Na’in” or Owner of  the  Words who, as a judicial  body,