Building resilience in food systems by preserving local knowledge

Sofia (00:00:34–00:01:00):
Welcome everyone to SEI Asia’s podcast series on optimizing urban food resilience. I’m your host, Sofia Cavalleri, Research Associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute, Asia Office. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about localizing sustainable food systems as part of our effort to make circular food systems more accessible to a wider audience.

Sofia (00:01:01–00:01:23):
We are very pleased to have Khairunnisa from Bakudapan here with us. Bakudapan is a research group based in Indonesia that works to promote local foods. Hi Nisa! Could you share a bit about yourself and what Bakudapan does?

Nisa (00:01:24–00:02:04):
Hi Sofia, thank you for having me. Hello everyone, my name is Nisa. I’m currently working as an independent researcher and creative worker, and I’m also the founder of the Bakudapan Food Study Group. We are a collective of eight members based in Yogyakarta: myself, Elia, Gatari, Liesta, Meivy, Monika, Shilfina, and Silva. We come from different backgrounds but share a common interest in food, and our main work revolves around research.

Nisa (00:02:05–00:02:23):
We use food as both a topic and a tool to explore broader sociopolitical issues. While we do research, we also experiment with different methods to approach it.

Sofia (00:02:24–00:02:52):
The theme of this series is food, and food is so much more than a transaction—it carries deep social, economic, political, cultural, and historical meaning. When we talk about food access, we’re also talking about access to resources and power. That connects to food security and food sovereignty.

Sofia (00:02:53–00:03:23):
The global peasant movement La Via Campesina defines food sovereignty as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” Nisa, your work at Bakudapan is impressive—what’s your take on food sovereignty?

Nisa (00:03:24–00:04:00):
That question has become a key point of reflection for us. We’ve realized that the concept of food sovereignty rarely incorporates local knowledge. Sovereignty, as it’s often discussed, isn’t rooted in how communities actually live and work. Access to define one’s own food and farming systems still isn’t feasible for many.

Nisa (00:04:01–00:04:42):
In the communities we’ve encountered, the main challenge is the freedom to grow and eat what they traditionally consumed. Those in power have introduced rules about what farmers should grow and eat. For instance, each region has specific soil conditions that support local staples—like cassava or yam in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, or sago in other parts of Indonesia. But agricultural policies have disrupted this.

Nisa (00:04:43–00:05:16):
Communities that once had their own staple foods have become dependent on rice due to national policies. Their local crops have been replaced by rice fields, which is now widespread across many Indigenous communities in Indonesia. This replacement is not always in line with local ecological or cultural practices.

Sofia (00:05:17–00:05:43):
That’s really interesting. Over the last few years, Bakudapan has done applied research on edible weeds. One of your core questions has been: how is food sovereignty built by ordinary people? What have you discovered?

Nisa (00:05:44–00:06:24):
Food sovereignty is absolutely built by the people. The government has largely failed them, so they’ve created their own systems for survival. It’s their effort to preserve and document local knowledge. This drive comes from within the community—it’s not top-down. They know that if they don’t do it, no one else will.

Nisa (00:06:25–00:06:47):
Edible weeds are a great example. Mainstream knowledge has overlooked or forgotten them. They were once widely known and used in everyday life, but now that knowledge has faded.

Nisa (00:06:48–00:07:07):
Today, some of those weeds are marketed as “superfoods,” but they used to be common plants—found in backyards, roadsides, and abandoned lots. They’re still around and easy to find.

Nisa (00:07:08–00:07:27):
But with rapid urban development and monoculture farming, these plants are being displaced. The knowledge about them is disappearing, especially in urban areas, due to external pressures.

Sofia (00:07:28–00:07:50):
Yes, that really connects to power and history. You mentioned common knowledge. I’m thinking also of circular food systems. How do you see local food knowledge, like edible weeds, contributing to circularity?

Nisa (00:07:51–00:08:24):
Edible weeds can absolutely contribute to circular food systems. But we can’t fully rely on them because they can’t be commodified or cultivated like standard crops. They grow where they want to grow. Attempts to cultivate them in set plots usually fail—they sprout outside the intended area.

Nisa (00:08:25–00:08:49):
That’s why we need to revisit and revive local knowledge—how to find and use edible weeds. They grow everywhere. Even when you step outside, you might see something edible growing by the road. It’s about recognizing and re-engaging with that knowledge.

Sofia (00:08:50–00:09:12):
Yes, absolutely. And by “we,” we mean ordinary people. It’s clearly a challenge to promote the preservation of local foods. How can we, especially younger generations, help preserve this local food knowledge?

Nisa (00:09:13–00:09:32):
It’s challenging, but not impossible. From Bakudapan’s experience, we’ve met several communities that work hard to engage the younger generation in preserving local food knowledge.

Nisa (00:09:33–00:10:25):
For example, Sekolah Pagesangan in Yogyakarta. It’s located far from the city, and one big challenge is that young people are tempted to leave for urban jobs. But Sekolah Pagesangan empowers them to stay, work the land, and preserve food traditions. They use education and continuous activities that actively include young people in the process of growing local crops and sharing knowledge.

Sofia (00:10:26–00:10:45):
That’s an inspiring bottom-up initiative. But now let’s talk about top-down approaches. What kind of policy instruments do you think are needed to effectively preserve local food knowledge?

Nisa (00:10:46–00:11:24):
I’m not in a position to propose specific policies, but I believe that collaboration is key. Individuals, communities, and stakeholders must work together. One essential area for policy is land protection for Indigenous communities. Land is the biggest current challenge—they’re losing access to it.

Nisa (00:11:25–00:11:54):
Whether in rural or urban settings, Indigenous people face the threat of losing their land. And without land, they can’t practice or preserve their food traditions. Land is the foundation of local food knowledge—it’s the starting point for everything.

Sofia (00:11:55–00:12:24):
Now we understand more clearly how promoting local food is essential to both food sovereignty and circular food systems. Thank you so much, Nisa, for contributing to SEI Asia’s podcast series on optimizing urban food resilience. Best of luck with your important work at Bakudapan. And to our listeners—please subscribe to the podcast and follow Bakudapan. See you next time!