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Preserving the Culture of Indigenous People in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Region: Indonesia, South and Southeast Asia
Author: Jabar Lahadji on behalf of the ToWana, an indigenous community living in the Morowali Nature Reserve, Sulawesi (Celebes), Indonesia
Consortium Member: Ashoka, Innovators for the Public
Status: Needs Funding Budget: $3080 Collected: $300 Needs: $2780
Goal: The ToWana are seeking a sustainable source of income which will enable them to maintain their unique culture and traditional lifestyle in the Morowali Nature Reserve.
Comment: Located north of Java, Sulawesi is an island rich in traditions. Your donation will support a handicraft project to benefit this remote indigenous community.
Thanks to the Donor: Katherine Randolph, California [January 2001]

Background
The ToWana traditional culture and economy depend on swidden agriculture (shifting agriculture, or “slash and burn”) and hunting and gathering. Increasing pressure from the government and from conservationists is restricting their traditional lifestyle. They are currently seeking a source of income which will enable them to maintain their unique culture in the Morowali Nature Reserve. There are a total of 5000 ToWana living in the reserve, but this project is aimed particularly at the Kayu Poli Wana, who number 148, and live near to the reserve’s point of entry.

What Will be Done in the Project

• The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a sustainable income for the ToWana people, and education for tourists interested in their culture and activities.
  
• The first steps are to build a handicraft centre and retail outlet for sale of the handicrafts, and to buy an outboard motor boat for the efficient transportation of the handicrafts to the market outlet.
  
• Members of the ToWana community will divide up the responsibilities within a cooperative to produce, transport and market their handicrafts.
  
• This project will create several full-time jobs for those ToWana particularly interested in meeting with tourists (such as running the shop and handicraft centre). All ToWana people will be welcome to produce any handicrafts on a casual basis, for which they will be paid a percentage of the sale price.
  
• Educational courses will be given to tourists during the peak holiday season. Handicrafts will be sold throughout the year to reserve visitors and other tourists.
  
• The project can be implemented as soon as funds become available.

How the Project will Affect the Community

• Individual participants in the project will benefit by receiving a fair price for their handicrafts, which until now have been sold at high profit by “middle men”.
  
• The whole community will benefit in the long term as it is a way in which the ToWana may slowly integrate into the larger culture without losing their traditional homelands or way of life.

Who Will be Responsible for the Project?
Jabar Lahadji, an Ashoka Fellow from Indonesia, has been working with the ToWana people for over ten years. His goals are to promote the rights of the indigenous people and to develop conservation practices within the Morowali Nature reserve. In partnership with the ToWana, he has been taking small groups of eco-tourists and conservation expeditions into the Morowali Reserve (225,000 hectares, approximately 869 square miles). Because of the nature of their culture, the ToWana people are not in a position to apply to the Virtual Foundation personally or to manage any monetary awards given, so have therefore asked Jabar Lahadji to make this application on their behalf.

Budget
Notes on the budget:

• Raw materials are naturally occurring within the reserve and will be harvested in a sustainable manner by the ToWana.
  
• Each year, $700 of the profit is needed for reinvestment into the scheme. It is envisaged that this will be approximately 30% of the total money accrued from the sale of the handcrafts and from fees for the educational courses for tourists.
  
• The remaining money will be divided amongst those people participating in the project according to their contribution.

Transport for handicrafts
Boat with outboard motor	$1500
Gasoline	$250
Shop in Kolonodale
Rent (one year)	$150
Shop fittings	$250
Handicraft centre
Building	$250
Interpretation	$150
Handicraft materials
Raw material	0
Tools	$250
Total	$2,800
Virtual Foundation administrative fee (split between Consortium Member and VF-US):	$280
Total Requested from the Virtual Foundation for this project:	$3080