women prepared food in Mendolo food week

by Sidiq Harjanto

The Mendolo Food Week 2025 became a vital moment for the people of Mendolo Village to weave together traditions of food, art, and conservation. Long before the event, women from the Brayanurip Women Farmers Group had prepared keluwek from pucung seeds, while young members of the Mendolo Youth Farmers Association practiced dances with their younger siblings. For days, villagers gathered forest vegetables and mushrooms, decorated the stage with natural materials, and curated menus based on forest produce—showing how food, culture, and nature are deeply connected.

Jingkrak Sundang dance

food prepared from the forest

More than just a food festival, Food Week served as a conservation hub under the theme “Food and Ecosystem Connectivity.” Collaboration between SwaraOwa, the village government, and local communities has fostered sustainable economic programs such as shade-grown coffee, stingless bee honey, and gadung flour, alongside conservation efforts like tree planting for forest corridors. The highlight was the launch of the “Titian Lestari” program, which carries three missions: building habitat corridors for the Javan gibbon, educating youth about forests and wildlife, and empowering women in forest management.

branyan urip dancers

Art played an integral role in strengthening the conservation message. Children’s performances such as Gaculan Bocah and Jingkrak Sundang brought joy while also evoking empathy for wildlife losing their habitats. Combined with 31 forest-based dishes served to guests, Mendolo Food Week 2025 affirmed that food traditions, artistic expression, and conservation are inseparable—an enduring collective effort to safeguard forests, wildlife, and the future of generations to come.

This aricle translated from original article published in bahasa : https://swaraowa.blogspot.com/2025/12/pekan-pangan-mendolo-2025-pangan-dan.html