Indigenous Peoples Group CINE Visits Pohnpei

By Amy Levendusky

From June 3-9, 2006, Professor Harriet Kuhnlein from the Centre of Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University, Canada and Chief Bill Erasmus,
Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations, Northwest Territories, Canada and Chair of the CINE governing board visited Pohnpei. The purpose of their visit was to assist with "The Traditional Food System of Pohnpei" project. This project is documenting and promoting the traditional foods of Pohnpei in the village of Mand, Madolenihmw, as coordinated by the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) and local agencies.

Pohnpei was selected as the 12th case study in a global health project led by CINE. The other case studies in the project include indigenous groups in Canada, Peru, Colombia, Japan, Kenya, India, Nigeria, and Thailand. The overall purpose of the project is to increase the production and consumption of locally grown foods and to improve health, conducting also scientific research to show the impact of this and presenting these results to the United Nations in order to help indigenous peoples.

The 2 year project began in May 2005 and will be completed by September 2007. This project includes two phases. Phase 1, the documentation of the traditional food system began in May 2005 and was completed August 2005. Phase 2, which began in September 2005, is an intervention (using a mixture of methods) promoting those foods in Mand with the highest potential health benefits and greatest acceptability.

On June 5, 2006, Professor Harriet and Chief Bill attended a strategy planning workshop at the Pohnpei Agriculture office, organized by IFCP. Twenty-nine people from government and non-government sectors, including community members of Mand, attended the workshop.

Professor Harriet stressed how impressed she was with the great effort and progress brought forth by the Mand community members in implementing the project and looks forward to further progress in the future. Chief Bill emphasized, "My people in Canada have gone away from our local foods to eating a more western diet. With this change in diet, we're seeing an increase in health problems like diabetes."

During their visit, Professor Harriet and Chief Bill had the opportunity to meet with Governor Johnny P. David and representatives from the Office of Economic Affairs, the College of Micronesia-FSM, and the Departments of Health and Education. They also attended a charcoal oven demonstration in Mand. One of the cultural highlights of their visit was observing the traditional pounding of breadfruit ceremony, lihli, at the residence of Deacon Lorens in Saladak.

IFCP thanks the Mand community and our collaborating partners and support agencies, including the Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs, Departments of Health and Education, Department of Land and Natural Resources, COM/FSM Land Grant, Natural Resource Conservation Service, CINE, Sight and Life, New Zealand and Australian Embassies, the Global Environmental Fund, and Pacific German Regional Forestry Project (PGRFP).