Eliasa and Wowonda: A Portrait of Access and Food Sovereignty for Indigenous Communities in the Tanimbar Islands

The Wowonda and Eliasa Indigenous Peoples, who live in the coastal areas of the Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku, recognize the same challenges regarding meeting food needs at the community level. The Wowonda Indigenous People are located in South Tanimbar District, specifically on Yamdena Island. The majority of their members, in addition to fishing, also cultivate vegetables. However, their vegetable harvests and catches often go unsold in the market. Meanwhile, they rely on the proceeds from their vegetable and fish sales to meet their household needs. Staple foods like rice can only be obtained by purchasing them from producers in other villages.

The Eliasa Indigenous Community, located on another island, Selaru Island, to the south of Yamdena Island, also faces challenges in meeting their community's food needs independently. The majority of the Eliasa Indigenous Community are fishermen, whose livelihoods are highly dependent on marine resources. They use the proceeds from their catch to purchase staple foods like rice. Because they cannot produce their own staples, the Eliasa Indigenous Community must purchase rice from the district center on the neighboring island of Yamdena.

The Wowonda and Eliasa Indigenous Communities have recognized the two issues, and each community has initiated solutions to address them. These initiatives are realized through efforts to optimize customary land management. Land management is carried out in a more diverse manner, tailored to the conditions of each region. This includes planting food crops as a staple food source, in addition to vegetables, as already practiced in Wowonda. 

They took the initiative to grow corn and dryland rice. This addressed their primary challenge of independently meeting their staple food needs. Within a single plot of land, while still considering the suitability of the soil conditions for the crop type, they divided the land into two types of management. One portion is for providing staple foods, while the other portion is for cultivating vegetables.

This has been a tradition for generations in managing agricultural land, particularly red rice and corn. Vegetable cultivation, not only provides staple foods, but also provides additional income for the Eliasa and Wowonda Indigenous Peoples. Within a single plot of land within their customary territory, they can meet both their basic food needs and household needs. Their daily income comes from the sale of their vegetables, and their long-term needs are met through the harvests of corn and dryland rice.

These efforts are intended to support the food sovereignty of the Indigenous Peoples of Eliasa and Wowonda. This involves providing food independently by maximizing the management of the potential within their customary territories. This is evident in the changes that have occurred in Eliasa and Wowonda since optimizing management patterns in the manner described above. As a result, the Indigenous Peoples of Eliasa and Wowonda have been able to shift their perspective on meeting their needs by remaining in the community and managing available livelihoods, rather than going out to seek work. The profession of agricultural labor, initially considered a sideline, has begun to be pursued and made into a primary occupation to increase family income.

This has a direct impact on the realization of food sovereignty efforts by no longer purchasing food from outside the customary area but being able to produce it themselves and being able to provide food for the communities around Eliasa and Wowonda.