About SAPA
Sahabat Alam Papua (SAPA) was founded in 2015 by a group of Papuans that care for the harmony of life. The organization works to protect and sustain customary wisdom, lore, culture and storylines. It brings diverse groups together to seek collaboration and alignment surrounding territorial rights, ancestral knowledge & more-than-human life.
Vision
All Communities of Beings in the Isle of New Guinea to live a joyful simple life.
Mission
To balance our interactions with all Communities of Beings in the Isle of New Guinea to promote harmony in life.
SAPA accompanies tribal communities across New Guinea through a four-part process:
- Participatory mapping and planning of customary territories and Indigenous governance
- Advocating for the legal recognition of customary territories and Indigenous governance
- Supporting the establishment of tribe-owned businesses and charitable foundations
- Capacity building and skill-sharing for leaders and communities
Specified Objectives
- Building awareness that the Universe holds various mysteries of life and existence, both seen and unseen
- Encouraging tribal communities across New Guinea to explore ancestral knowledge as the foundation for stewarding balance and harmony in Nature
- Contribute to the emergence of collective movements of solidarity and reciprocity within caring for and organizing life in ways that sustain harmony
- Strengthen customary governance through participatory mapping of tribal nation territories for the recognition of human and more-than human rights, as well as the continuation of Adat ways of life
Board & Leadership
SAPA’s leadership has been selected through the Sidang Alam (Nature Assembly) for five-year terms since 2015, with the possibility of reappointment.
SAPA brings together groups from across life – tribal leaders, farmers, students, government, academics, funders and others – who share a commitment to living in balance with nature.
Core principles for Membership
- To act against nature is to move towards destruction.
- When we follow the laws of nature (walk behind them), harmony in life is created.
- When we live in friendship with nature, balance is achieved.
- When we try to control the laws of nature (stand before them), disorder and chaos arise.