NESFAS and its communities have been regarded as guardians of the Indigenous FoodSystems (IFS) for the continued work to promote and conserve the traditional food systems and the agrobiodiversity that supports these systems.
NESFAS facilitated an exposure visit on May 12, 2022 for the 2nd Semester students of Bachelor of Social Work, St Edmund's College at Khweng, Ri-Bhoi. The programme saw the participation of 36 students. The main objective of this exposure visit is to collaborate with various NGOs for their study tour and rural camps as part of their curriculum and also to understand the works done by such organisations.
Hallbars, a Sustainability Research Organisation awarded the contribution of four individuals, organisations, and community from Meghalaya as part of the Best 2021 Sustainability Publication Award. The Indigenous Partnership (TIP), NESFAS, and the Khasi People of Nongtraw were among the 58 awardees for their contribution towards the award winning publication “Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Insights on Sustainability and Resilience from the front line of climate Change.”
On the 26th August, 2021 NITI Aayog released the ‘North Eastern Region: District SDG Index, Report and Dashboard Baseline Report 2021-2022’. The report was a damning indictment of Meghalaya’s performance in terms of its progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Indigenous Peoples account for 6.2% of the global population and are custodians of vast diversity of unique cultures, traditions, language, knowledge and food systems. Every year, the 9th of August is celebrated as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This year, the UN has set the theme for the event as “Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract”
Mr Pius Ranee, Executive Director of NESFAS was invited to attend a webinar hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on the 8th of June, 2021