Safeguard Mentawai culture for the next generation

Our longterm Mentawai partner (YPBM) approached us to support their vision of establishing a Mentawai Cultural Arts Education Centre on Mentawai’s largest Island, Siberut. For over 10 years, this Mentawai Foundation has developed a cultural and ecological education program for Mentawai youth.

YPBM wish to achieve a self-sustaining level, strengthening the value of Indigenous knowledge, & impacting students and youth across all Mentawai, whilst empowering teaching and cultural exchange opportunities nationally and across the Asia- Pacific.

Their vision is to establish a Cultural Arts Centre to serve as a central hub for students in the region, and gateway for foreigners to enter Mentawai – sensitive to the Indigenous peoples. Aligning to the vision for their community to fortify and protect their cultural knowledge, the centre will support pathways to a self-funded future for their Foundation and their cultural and ecological education program.

In their words “This Cultural Centre is so important for our future. If we do not take the initiative then our culture will be lost and our children & community will be destined for poverty, or worse, disappear… We have seen a really positive impact here since our program began. Now running in six different villages, we have over 350 students gaining access. We dream of sharing our culture with others, both tourists and other Indigenous communities worldwide. We are looking to the future, knowing that we are becoming stronger every day. This is one step to get us there.”

Indigenous Education Foundation (IEF)