Asia Learning Exchange 2026: Strengthening Indigenous Women’s Leadership and Tenure Recognition through Cross-Border Learning
Labuan Bajo – Indonesia, February 10–13, 2026
The Tenure Facility, in collaboration with national partners and indigenous communities in Indonesia, hosted the 2026 Asia Learning Exchange (ALE) as a cross-border learning platform bringing together indigenous women leaders, supporting organizations, donors, and government representatives. This event was a continuation of the 2023 Asia Regional Learning Exchange, which emphasized the importance of social inclusivity in the struggle for land rights. The event aimed to strengthen indigenous women’s leadership, promote the recognition of tenure rights, and deepen shared understanding of the role of indigenous communities in forest/marine protection and sustainable livelihoods.
Over four days, participants from Nepal, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, and Indonesia engaged in a series of experience-sharing sessions, thematic discussions, participatory learning methods, and field visits to indigenous communities. The forum was designed to connect community-level practices with national and global policies and support.
The opening ceremony was conducted with a traditional Kepok ceremony, a traditional welcoming ceremony given to guests with the highest respect visiting Labuan Bajo. This ceremony served as a welcome and a prayer to the ancestors for their blessings so that all activities could proceed smoothly.
Experience Exchange and Collective Learning
The first day focused on exchanging experiences through Pecha Kucha sessions, which allowed participants to share practices, challenges, and strategies for struggle in their respective communities. The Wisnu Foundation, one of the partners supported by the Tenure Facility, shared its experience assisting indigenous peoples and local communities in Bali in facing development pressures, land conversion, and environmental degradation. The discussion demonstrated that despite differing social, cultural, and political contexts, indigenous peoples, particularly women, face similar structural challenges, including land conflicts, limited access to decision-making, and the impacts of climate change.
This learning emphasized the key role indigenous women play in maintaining the relationship between land, forests, culture, and community livelihoods. One session that served as a basis for collective reflection was the long journey of Mama Aleta Baun, an indigenous women’s leader from Mollo, East Nusa Tenggara. She shared her experiences of over 12 years of struggle to defend indigenous land, water, and living space from the threat of environmental destruction and territorial grabbing. The movement with indigenous communities led by Mama Aleta has successfully shut down five mining operations and saved over 600,000 hectares of indigenous territory.
Mama Aleta explained that this struggle was neither short nor easy. For more than a decade, indigenous women have been at the forefront of preserving nature to ensure food, water, and the sustainability of future generations.
Over time, Mama Aleta realized that community-level struggles needed to be balanced with involvement in formal decision-making spaces. This awareness drove her to enter the political sphere, with the goal of ensuring the voices of indigenous people, especially women, were represented in public policy. Mama Aleta was elected to the East Nusa Tenggara Regional Representative Council (DPRD) for the 2014-2019 period with 300,000 votes.
Furthermore, Mama Aleta also shared the initiative to establish the Mama Aleta Fund, a platform born from her extensive experience supporting indigenous communities and women. This fund is designed as a sustainable support mechanism for indigenous women, to strengthen the capacity, independence, and sustainability of the movement at the local level. The Mama Aleta Fund reflects an effort to transform solidarity into a tangible support system that can reach communities directly.
Strengthening Women’s Roles and Storytelling
On the second day, sessions focused on strengthening women’s roles through creative and reflective approaches, including storytelling and visual arts. This approach demonstrated that indigenous women’s stories are not only important as documentation of experiences, but also as strategic tools for building solidarity, increasing the visibility of struggles, and influencing policy.
The diverse experiences shared demonstrated that indigenous women have long led and maintained the sustainability of their territories, although these contributions often remain unacknowledged.
Field Learning in the Colol Indigenous Community
The third day included a field visit to the Colol Indigenous Community in East Nusa Tenggara. Participants learned firsthand about the customary land management system based on coffee, forests, and customary practices that have persisted for generations. The Colol Indigenous Community is a community with a long history of struggle and collective trauma stemming from tenure conflicts. One of the darkest events shared by the community was the tragedy known as Bloody Wednesday, March 10, 2004. On that day, a police shooting killed six indigenous people, leaving deep scars on their families and the community to this day.
This incident occurred in the context of a territorial conflict between indigenous communities and the state, as the community defended its living space against policies that negated customary rights. The community’s customary territory lies within the Ruteng National Park. The designation of the customary territory as a national park changed the community’s relationship with their land and forests. Activities previously part of customary practices and livelihoods, such as gardening, coffee cultivation, and forest access, were suddenly positioned as violations of the law. The story of Bloody Wednesday is not presented as a mere historical account, but as a stark reminder of the direct impact of the lack of formal recognition of customary territories.
Policy Dialogue and Final Reflection
The fourth day served as a space for collective reflection and dialogue with representatives of the central government. One key intervention was delivered by a participant from Indonesia, who emphasized the urgency of a concrete state presence in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples.
In the discussion, the Indonesian representative emphasized the urgent need for legal recognition of indigenous peoples. He emphasized that indigenous peoples have been awaiting the ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Law for over a decade, while on the ground they continue to face the risk of loss of territory, criminalization, and violence. He argued that indigenous peoples, including women, do not need the introduction of new practices like agroforestry, as these systems have long been practiced for generations. What is needed is the recognition and protection of their rights so that these practices can continue to be sustainable.
Responding to this, Ms. Catur Endah Prasetyani, Director General of Social Forestry, Ministry of Forestry, conveyed the government’s commitment to promoting the recognition of indigenous peoples through its authority. The Ministry of Forestry stated that indigenous peoples are viewed as guardians of the forest, making the recognition and protection of their rights a crucial part of national forestry policy. The government also emphasized the importance of documenting traditional knowledge and customary practices as a basis for formal recognition and cross-generational learning.
Meanwhile, Veronica Tan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, highlighted the importance of women’s solidarity and cross-sector collaboration. The forum emphasized that cross-sector collaboration between indigenous communities, civil society organizations, the government, and donors is a key prerequisite for achieving long-term success in forest tenure recognition and protection.
Commitment and Follow-Up
The Asia Learning Exchange 2026 concluded its series of activities with an agreement to continue collaborative work through community mentoring, strengthening indigenous women’s leadership, and disseminating good practices and lessons learned across regions. This forum is not understood as an end in itself, but rather as part of an ongoing process to strengthen tenure justice, environmental sustainability, and the well-being of indigenous communities.
The Tenure Facility, along with its partners, is committed to continuing to support indigenous-led initiatives, believing that recognizing territorial rights and women’s leadership are essential foundations for forest protection and the future of future generations.