Traditional Fields for Food Sovereignty of the Nggolo Indigenous Community in Salena

Currently, the main challenge faced by the Nggolo Indigenous Community located on the westernmost side of Palu City is the increasingly widespread and massive mining concession area (C-quarry). The area of ​​the Nggolo customary area is no less than 7.000 hectares, spread across two areas of Palu City and Donggala Regency. Rumors have it that millions of tons of materials for the Indonesian Capital City (IKN) project from Palu City were mostly taken from the Nggolo Customary Area. Facing the rapid challenges, a counter-effort is needed to prevent environmental damage from mining.

The main source of income for the Nggolo Indigenous Community is farming/gardening. They carry out traditional practices that demonstrate respect for the environment and an understanding of conservation that is different from modern approaches, but still prioritizes the preservation of nature. As an effort to compete and uphold tradition, with the support of Direct Funding from Nusantara Fund and assistance from PD AMAN Kamalisi, the Nggolo Indigenous Community in Salena, designed and implemented food sovereignty efforts. These efforts are expected to make traditional agricultural practices an important part of the strategy to protect indigenous areas from environmental damage from mining.

The Nggolo indigenous people live their lives with a strong attachment to the land and tradition. They hold the philosophy of life "Indoku Dunia Umaku Langi" which means "Mother is the earth/soil and the sky is the father." In their view, the land is the mother, while rain from the sky is considered the father's love. The meaning of this philosophy shows that the lifestyle and farming methods of the Nggolo people cannot be separated from the natural environment. One of their local wisdom practices in land management is the rotation system and regional zoning.

The rotation system allows people to farm/garden by temporarily moving locations, giving time for the cultivated land to rest until it becomes naturally fertile again. This practice is often misunderstood as an activity that destroys forests, whereas in the view of Indigenous Peoples, the rotation method actually makes the soil more fertile after the land is abandoned and rested for some time, the average cycle reaching tens of years. The Nggolo Indigenous People in Salena also implement conservation by sacralizing certain trees and places. Offerings or nompakoni are also given as a form of interaction with nature.

In land ownership, the Nggolo Indigenous Community implements a communal system, meaning that land is not owned by individuals, but is a shared right regulated by custom. The regional zoning system includes: 1) Pangale - Uncultivated forest; 2) Tinalu - Land with short, medium, and long-term crops; 3) Bonde - Small land with short-term crops. 4) Mpakamangi - Land that has been opened but left because of certain signs. 5) Ova - Former land that has been overgrown with wild plants; 6) Ombo - Temporary cessation of natural resource management to ward off disasters, such as rattan ombo (5 years) or wood for charcoal production (3-6 months).

In the buying and selling of agricultural products, economic interactions between indigenous communities also occur. Several members of the indigenous community PD AMAN Kamalisi, like the Vayanga and Vaenumpu Indigenous Peoples, often buy the agricultural products of the Nggolo Indigenous Peoples to resell in the market. This solidarity move helps facilitate the sale of agricultural products from the Nggolo Indigenous Peoples in Salena while strengthening ongoing consolidation between Indigenous Peoples.

In February 2024, a community-level deliberation initiated by the Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara (BPAN) Nggolo agreed on several priority crops, such as corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, shallots, and wax vegetables. After the deliberation, the land began to be cleared and planting began in March 2024. In May 2024, activities were temporarily stopped during the napane betue (hot star) period, no clearing or planting activities were allowed. The hot star tradition makes harvest times vary, so that crops are always available throughout the year.

This program involves 15 women and 15 men from the Nggolo Indigenous Community in Salena to work together to cultivate and cultivate around 5 hectares of gardens using a mutual cooperation approach in every stage. Because the land being cultivated is separated, a mutual cooperation schedule is made. The local wisdom of “nosiala pale” - about togetherness in managing land - is the core of the Nggolo Indigenous Community’s food sovereignty movement. Not without obstacles, during the program, the community faced intimidation, including baseless accusations from individuals that those responsible for the program were environmental criminals. To overcome this situation, some community members took on roles in planting, while others focused on advocacy movements.

Until now, the gardens are still productively producing results, although the quality and quantity of the harvest are still not optimal due to mining dust. In the future, the Nggolo Indigenous Community plans to hold post-harvest processing training and management of the Indigenous Community-Owned Enterprise (BUMMA). The positive impact of traditional gardens is also expected to spread widely, the Nggolo Indigenous Community plans to expand the intervention area of ​​traditional gardens to other villages in the Nggolo Indigenous Region with a total area of ​​no less than 100 hectares. 

The increase in harvests such as corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, shallots, and wax vegetables has accelerated the economic cycle of selling agricultural products of the Nggolo Indigenous Community in Salena. This program also provides a space for AMAN Kamalisi and BPAN Nggolo to strengthen solidity and solidarity in advocacy efforts to gain recognition of rights to their customary territories.