COVID-19 RESPOND

  Misi bantu oa

#MisiBantuOA is a disaster response intervention run by youth groups;  Shaq Koyok, Gerimis Project, KUASA, Diri Bumi Ecological Practice and KAMY specifically to coordinate and centralise the efforts for immediate relief to Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia

 

Our targets are the Orang Asli communities located in the interiors and communities living by the fringes of degraded forests - all now facing a severe economic and health crisis, as well shortage of supplies due to CMO amid COVID19.

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Communities facing decades of environmental injustice and human rights violations will be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and other future shocks including climate impacts. The loss of these crucial communities will not only cost us the fight for forest protection for climate mitigation & adaptation.

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Often understated, ethnobotany and irreplaceable indigenous knowledge aids in our understanding of the forest health and composition among many others— including our relationship with the earth.

 

Based on the principles of #ClimateJustice, KAMY through #MisiBantuOA will refocus on how to increase Orang Asli community resilience.

 

Throughout the 1st phase of #MisiBantuOA, we collected a lot of information and identified gaps in food sufficiency within the indigenous community. We also realized that women, especially young women with the child are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Covid19 coupled with forest degradation and systematic genocide of the indigenous culture in peninsular Malaysia have eroded the food sovereignty of indigenous communities.

 

PROTECT OUR FUTURE

Seek for a GREEN and JUST transition to our post COVID-19 future!

PROJECT PHASES

Phase 1 |   Misi Bantu OA

Disaster respond during Covid19 by sending aid to Orang Asli in the peninsula of Malaysia. We send supplies, food, Cov19 sanitary kits, dignity kits for young women, children, and OKU Co-building the Orang Asli open repository with our partners in the OA collective and Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli Malaysia (JAKOA) to build a platform of resources and strategy sharing among grassroots to increase the indigenous community resilience during Covid19. #MisiBantuOA urges for transparent communication, information and resource sharing between government agencies and CSOs/NGOs during a crisis.



Phase 2 | Kebun Mandiri OA

Establishing cash crop and food garden (2 acres) in indigenous Semai's Pos Lanai villages in the interior of Pahang using the funds from #MisiBantuOA and other external funds. We call this project Kebun Mandiri OA Pos Lanai. Phase I: Increase food sufficiency of the community during the pandemic Phase II: Leadership and organizational capacity building, mainstreaming gender balanced mechanism Phase III: food security, sustainbility, cultural rights, visibility and marketing.



Phase 3 |   CAK Art Project

In tandem with Kebun Mandiri OA, we are setting up CAK. CAK means ‘eat’ in the Semai and Temiar language. A simple word that carries an important and deeper meaning of survival, culture, and relationship to the land. What do we eat when we eat? What are the origins of our food? During MCO and the global lockdown, many countries including ours experienced a disruption in the food supply chain (rice, vegetables, poultry, etc.). CAK aims to introduce Kebun Mandiri OA initiative to the public through an exhibition with various programming where the public can immerse and interact with engaging information, discourses, and key community members. Some key points are how climate change affects crop production and the loss of heirloom seeds. The urgency of protecting these seeds and native, edible plants that can become our food bank during a food crisis or when we are cut off from the global supply chain.



We collect data and

share resources on

several projects.

MisiBantuOA is also a part of a larger collective of NGOs and CSOs working to empower the Orang Asli communities in Malaysia.

Read the joint statement of #OACollective here

Browse our data

repository here

Important links

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