The Strategy of the Saleati Indigenous Community in the Banggai Islands to Protect Their Customary Territory from Mining Threats and Achieve Food Sovereignty

The Saleati Indigenous Community is part of the Pau Lipu Tano Tuu Indigenous Community, located in Saleati Village, Liang District, Banggai Islands Regency, Central Sulawesi. For generations, the Saleati Indigenous Community has had customary prohibitions on managing its customary territory, such as prohibiting felling trees near springs and sacred forests, cultivating communal land without permission from the traditional leader, and prohibiting letting livestock loose near other people's plantations.

However, this customary territory is currently facing challenges regarding the opening of limestone mining concessions. Therefore, to promote the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights from the threat of mining company expansion and as an effort to strengthen their indigenous identity and explore the potential sources of livelihood in their customary territory, the Saleati Indigenous Community, accompanied by the Regional Executive (PD) of the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) BANGKEP encourages participatory indigenous territory mapping initiatives.

From this initiative, the Saleati Indigenous Community succeeded in mapping its 2.276 hectares of customary territory, which was discussed and agreed upon by representatives of customary leaders, community leaders, and Village Government institutions. This resulted in the transfer of local knowledge into a spatial map using GPS owned by the Saleati Indigenous Community regarding the boundaries of its customary territory, the location of customary forests, gardens, springs, rivers, and other local knowledge such as history, applicable customary laws and regulations, historical or sacred sites, ritual sites, and other cultural sites that are still maintained and implemented from generation to generation.

In addition, to improve the collective economy and realize food sovereignty in their customary territory, in conjunction with the ongoing mapping initiative, the Saleati Indigenous Community is again promoting the formation of a 10-member Indigenous Farmers Group to cultivate their customary territory by planting corn on 1,5 hectares of land with a spacing of 15 to 25 cm. This has an impact on the potential for collective economic output for the indigenous community of up to Rp. 27.000.000 per year.