Sustainable farming by the original guardians of the forests
AFT RECOMMENDS the OA Organik series of videos, showcasing the Orang Asli (OA) or indigenous or original people of Malaysia.
First published by AsiaFitnessToday.com
AFT RECOMMENDS the OA Organik series of videos, showcasing the Orang Asli (OA) or indigenous or original people of Malaysia.
The Malaysian Ministry of Education reported that 42.29% of OA students did not complete Form Five high school education. There's much to be done for the OA community to level up on equity within the Malaysian landscape.
We’re pleased to introduce OA Organik - a project spearheaded by local non-profit organisation, Foundation for Community Studies and Development (FOCUSED) or in Bahasa Malaysia, Yayasan Kajian dan Pembangunan Masyarakat (YKPM) that picked up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 𝙍𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙀𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 award.
Maimun, an Orang Asli indigenous woman from Melai of Pahang in Malaysia was featured in Voices: First Person Perspectives on the World of Work by the International Labour Organization (a specialized agency of the United Nations) where we had a small role to play in the transcribing and translating of the interview. Maimun, who is chair of her village’s community organic farm, said, "The forest used to be the source of everything for my people, the Orang Asli. It was like a bank or a supermarket. It provided everything we wanted to eat. That was before the miners came and destroyed the forest. We grieved when the mining began but we did not know how to stop them,".
On World’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day (9th August), the fairtrade community enterprise launched a series of video explainers to share how they partner with the Orang Asli (indigenous people) at Melai and Ulu Gumum of Malaysia. Through organic farming, OA Organik has helped lift many Orang Asli households from poverty and earn an income. The project aims to build a green economy and fight for climate justice.
In a video series produced by OA Organik, you'll listen to the authentic voices of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia, working as Organic Farmers in a unique collaboration with FOCUSED (YKPM), a registered nonprofit organisation that was founded on 22 September 1993. The organisation provided training, seed capital and connected the OA farmers to fair markets where they were able to earn at least 40% of the retail price, helping the community uplift themselves through this form of income generation.
Through organic farming, the Orang Asli (OA) are indirectly protecting Malaysia's largest natural resource: the rainforest. With just RM1 million, the OA can set up a collection center and provide fair markets for 20 OA villages. This will improve livelihoods and empower them to conserve their forest.
Website links:
OA Organik: www.oaorganic.com.my https://oaorganik.wordpress.com/ (updated)
FOCUSED (YKPM): https://www.ykpm.org.my/oaorganik/
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