On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, communities from various villages across the Mentawai Islands gathered at Saureinu Village Field to attend the 2025 Mentawai Local Food Festival. The one-day event coincided with the 15th commemoration of the Mentawai tsunami and carried the theme “Freedom through Local Food, Resilient to Disasters, and Inclusive Climate Adaptation.”

The festival was initiated by community groups, village governments, and several civil society organizations united under the Mentawai Civil Society Forum (FORMASI Mentawai). The event was attended by seven partner village heads from Matobe, Saureinu, Sioban, Mara, Nemnemleleu, Beriulou, and Bosua, as well as two villages from North Sipora—Sipora Jaya and Sido Makmur. Several regional officials also participated, including the Subdistrict Head of South Sipora, the Heads of DPMD2KB, BPBD, Diskominfo, and the Office of Trade, Industry, Cooperatives, and MSMEs.

FORMASI Mentawai is a collaboration among institutions such as Yayasan SHEEP Indonesia (YSI), Yayasan Citra Mandiri Mentawai (YCMM), CDRM & CDS, Jemari Sakato, Fondasi Hidup, LP2M, AMAN, FPRB, and PMI. According to FORMASI Coordinator Ikbal Herdiansyah, the festival was part of a collective effort to combine the preservation of food culture with disaster preparedness. “Local food is not just a tradition; it is a source of resilience and pride. When logistics are cut off, communities can survive because they know and process food from their own land,” he said.

Echoing this, the Head of BPBD Mentawai highlighted local food as a vital lifeline during disasters. In his address, he explained that Mentawai’s past experiences with major disasters had shown the importance of food self-sufficiency. When disasters disrupt supply chains, communities familiar with local food sources can endure and recover more effectively. Therefore, BPBD fully supports initiatives like this festival as part of a community-based disaster risk reduction strategy.

The festival showcased a wide range of traditional Mentawai foods, including taro, banana, and sago, along with unique local delicacies such as toek (woodworm) and batra (sago grub). Various community groups, including grassroots organizations supported by YSI, exhibited innovative products such as taro chips, banana sticks, and chocolate taro balls—all of which sold out quickly. A group of persons with disabilities from Nemnemleleu Village also displayed handmade woven crafts that attracted strong visitor interest.

Beyond exhibitions and bazaars, the festival featured a variety of educational and cultural activities, including a Children’s Poetry Competition themed “Mentawai, My Nature, My Food, and Disaster,” a Local Food Cooking Contest for women using locally sourced emergency ingredients, traditional art performances, and drawing and coloring contests for children. A participant from a junior high school in Saureinu mentioned that these competitions helped restore children’s pride in consuming local food, as all activities were rooted in the theme of local food.

The event not only strengthened the spirit of food independence but also fostered stronger connections among village communities in addressing the challenges of climate change and disasters. More than 250 residents took part in the festival, creating a lively space for exchange between communities, government, and supporting organizations.

Following the festival, YSI and FORMASI members plan to continue the momentum through training on local food product diversification, market research, and the strengthening of the “Food-Sovereign Village” network. These efforts aim to ensure that the festival becomes not merely an annual celebration but a sustained movement that strengthens local economies and enhances community resilience across Mentawai.