Blog & news
Explore stories and updates from Pawanka Fund’s work across seven regions of the world: Africa, the Arctic, Asia, Latin America, North America, the Pacific, and Russia. These stories highlight initiatives, experiences, and learning processes shared by partner organizations and communities.

Ancestors’ Wisdom and Poetry in Chants and Dances
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

Traditional Markers
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

The Sculpture Garden of Native Science and Learning
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

Tradition and Adaptation to Climate Change
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 2019 Pawanka Calendar brings monthly indigenous images of inspiration
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

Tara Bandu, a Tradition of Sustainability
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,

Mapping the Ancestors’ Legacy
The spirits of indigenous peoples’ forebears who nurtured their lands for many generations in the three regions of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia must be delighted that their descendants have shown determination in safeguarding the traditional territories or wilayah adat. With its consistent advocacy for customary land rights, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (Indigenous

Managing Community Resources for the Future
If one were to google the indigenous group Dura, an interesting but alarming fact about them is the near extinction of their language. In fact, the Dura language is spoken by a few, or nearly none at all. Being a marginalized group in Nepal, the Duras not only have to contend with this threat to

Passing on the Torch
Gather indigenous youth with the fervour to learn and re-acquaint themselves to their indigenous roots, then let them listen to the words of wisdom of their elders. Give them the opportunity to travel and encounter fellow indigenous youth of other cultures and countries, and let them immerse in the issues and concerns of indigenous communities.

Samburu Women Trust Their Future
Salante Leburkash, the Chairwoman of Merilosho Cultural Manyatta has lived through many droughts in her village in the vast North Kenyan pastoralist territory. In fact, this climatic disaster had wreaked havoc on planned activities in the community. But she and her village mates were determined to push through with the project. She rued, however, that