About The Event

What does it mean to live well in the Naga world? How do food, land, community, and ancestral knowledge shape Indigenous well-being?

Join us for a two-day International workshop on “Ecologies of Care, Traditional Food and Well-being in Naga Society” that explores Naga foodways, traditional ecological knowledge, and the enduring relationships between people and the land.

We warmly invite students, researchers, farmers, community members, and anyone interested in Indigenous knowledge and sustainable futures to be part of this important conversation.

This workshop is a collaborative initiative organised by the University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Sociology, Unity College, Asufii Christian Institute (Autonomous) and Tetso College.

Concept Note:
What is the concept of living well in the Naga world? Is there a Naga Indigenous philosophy of well-being? This workshop aims to reflect the long-standing relationships and networks that Naga ancestors established with the land as food growers, community members, custodians of the land, and knowledge keepers. As Indigenous communities celebrate their rich culture, they also face challenges in preserving the biodiversity of the land and traditional agricultural knowledge due to rampant environmental degradation and infrastructure development. Naga subsistence farmers increasingly struggle with rising food production costs and labor scarcity. Many families across Naga villages discourage their children from taking up farming due to the precarity associated with working on the land. In addition, food-producing lands are giving way to monocropping and cash crops. Under these circumstances, this workshop explores how Naga society can aspire to an inclusive and healthy food system.

Is there a Naga model of traditional ecological knowledge? Food plays a significant role in Naga society. Their festivals, gatherings, and kin relationships are grounded in growing and sharing food. Can the Naga people reconnect and strengthen their relationship with their ancestral foodways? As Naga values and identity around the world are expressed through their rich traditional food-related knowledge, this workshop invites participants to reclaim their cultural and spiritual connection to the land on which they grow and forage. A holistic Naga philosophy of well-being is one in which people are able to assert their roles as Indigenous custodians and exercise control over their resources and lands. Caring for the land means working to strengthen sustainable food systems. The organizers welcome participants to explore how Indigenous resilience starts by growing culturally relevant food, saving seeds, and highlighting the resurgence of Indigenous food sovereignty.