Local Wisdom Field Schools Preserve Papua's Sago Potential

The Directorate of Belief in God Almighty and Indigenous Peoples, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) again held a local wisdom field school activity in Jayapura Regency, Papua.
 
This event will be held at the Yoboi Village Traditional Hall, Sentani District, Jayapura Regency, on August 15 and 16, 2022.

Director of Belief in God Almighty and Indigenous Peoples, Sjamsul Hadi, said that the local wisdom field school is a form of contextual education that aims to support the process of advancing culture by indigenous youth. Especially in Papua, including preserving the potential of sago.
 
"This can be a medium of learning for indigenous youths to cultural masters or elders and traditional leaders in preserving local culture," said Sjamsul in a written press statement, Tuesday (16/8/2022).

Sjamsul said that the local wisdom field school activity was attended by cultural guides consisting of representatives of indigenous youth from three districts in the Sentani Lake Area.

In the early stages of implementing the local wisdom field school, a briefing process was carried out to identify potential objects of cultural advancement for the field school cultural guides.

Present as a resource person, Ahmad Arif, author of the book Sago Papua for the World. In his material, Arif raised the awareness of the field school cultural guides about the potential of sago behind the pattern of food changes that occurred in this generation.
 
He said, as an area that has a variety of sago varieties, the Lake Sentani area has great potential in supporting food security based on a local cultural approach. In the early stages of the local wisdom field school, it tried to identify various local knowledge and traditional technologies in the management of sago plants.

In addition, the cultural guides also received material on documentation and cultural narrative techniques provided by the academician of IAIN Tulungagung, Akhol Firdaus.
 
Meanwhile, Deden Haris Muslim as the coordinator of the local wisdom field school activities in the opening of the activity said that the cultural landscape of Sentani has a rich variety of cultural potentials that need to be protected, developed and utilized.

"Local wisdom field schools can support this process in the form of conservation schools, empowerment schools and regeneration schools for indigenous youths in protecting the nature and culture of indigenous peoples," he said.

Deden said, at the end of the activity the participants prepared a follow-up plan together with the implementation of the local wisdom field school in the future.

"It is hoped that various results from the implementation of the field school will be part of the Yoboi Village sago caterpillar festival, the Lake Sentani Festival and the Congress of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago which will be held in October around Lake Sentani," he concluded.

SOURCE : https://www.beritasatu.com/news/965055/school-lapang-kearifan-lokal-lestarikan-potensi-sagu-papua/