Standing atop mist-shrouded hills in Kundasang, Sabah, I listened to the Dusun community recount their resistance, built through customary laws and culture, to protect the boundaries of Punyukatan (ancestral territory), now divided by signs marking state-owned ‘protected forest areas’. This experience reminded me of the Dayak community in Kapuas Hulu Borneo, which is facing the […]

SEANNET 2025 participants join the Kiau Nuluh community in harvesting and processing locally grown coffee. The activity offered a hands-on experience of traditional practices rooted in sustainability, care, and community pride. Amid the trees of Kiau Nuluh, the past and future walk side by side. During SEANNET 2025’s immersion, participants joined in daily rhythms of […]

SEANNET 2025 Kundasang participants making Mamasi Komburongoh; beading with plant-based Komburongo roots. On the mist-covered slopes of Bundu Tuhan, cultural knowledge is not just remembered, it is practiced, sung, danced, planted, and protected. For SEANNET 2025 participants, this village became an example of how communities define their future, not through demands for visibility, but through […]

Group photo of SEANNET 2025 Kundasang participants and Cinta Mata Village communities. In the quiet highlands of Kundasang lies the village of Cinta Mata, where stories are not just told, they are grown, made, and lived through daily acts of care. As part of SEANNET 2025’s field immersion, participants were welcomed into this Dusun community […]