Group Region: Southeast Asia

Founded in November 1999, PERMATIL (Permaculture Timor-Leste) has a vision of agriculture and animal management that protects and improves the land, provides produce and income for people, and is sustainable now and into the future. Since its start, PERMATIL has worked with farmers, community leaders and groups, universities, and national and international organizations to train and educate in the theory and practice of permaculture. In Timor-Leste, the ethics of permaculture have been adapted to three imperatives: care for the land, care for the people, and care for the future.

The Centre Quesadhip Ruak (CQR) is an East Timor organization that aims to inform and train citizens about democracy, human rights, and legislative questions. It also supports vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, widows, single-parent families, orphans, youth, and citizens with disabilities.

A 2018 grant from the Cultures of Resistance Network supported CQR’s scholarship program.

A 2017 grant from the Cultures of Resistance Network supported CQR’s scholarship program, which allows students to continue to secondary and higher education.

Hutan – Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme is a grassroots organization that has been working for wildlife and habitat conservation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo since 1998. Hutan has developed a holistic approach, combining scientific research, wildlife and habitat protection, policy work, capacity-building, and environmental education, as well as community outreach and development.

Through the College Saint Michael Archangel of Comoro Dili, the Foundation Centre Quesadhip Ruak provides multimedia vocational training to twenty students. Television Education Timor (TVET) was established to facilitate this project and is managed by the teachers and students of the college, together with national and international development partners.

Pun Pun Organic Farm is a seed center and organic farm in Thailand. It collects rare and indigenous seeds from around the world, propagates them at the farm, and distributes them through its network of organic farmers and communities. It is a living seed bank, meaning that it not only collects seeds to keep but also grows and exchanges the seeds continually to propagate the species coming back to use. The farm also packages and distributes organic heirloom seeds to the local area.

Narigrantha Prabartana, which means promoting women’s writings and books, is the first and only women’s resource center in Bangladesh. It was the first feminist bookstore and publishing house in the country and was conceptualized as both a bookstore and a space for women. It has been effective in introducing new issues into the women’s movement by providing published materials to activists, as well as offering space in which women can meet.

Legacies of War is a US-based educational and advocacy organization working to address the impact of conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War era. This includes the removal of unexploded ordnance. The group raises awareness of the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing of Laos, provides space for healing the wounds of war, and creates greater hope for a future of peace.

The Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) was founded in 2000 by parents of service members missing in action who sought ways to help each other during the ongoing war in Sri Lanka. AWAW aims to bring together Sri Lankan women affected by war across conflict lines to work towards peace, support one another, and share and learn from their diverse efforts. AWAW’s primary goal is to help women escape an isolated situation while addressing their social, economic, and mental needs, which it believes would help strengthen democracy and ensure peace in Sri Lanka.

Founded in the early 1990s by Dr. Vandana Shiva, Navdanya International engages in policy advocacy, grassroots mobilization, and science-based research. Through projects including seed conservation centers, organic farming programs, technical assistance to farmers, awareness campaigns, and publications, Navdanya champions food justice in India and beyond.

Thanks to a collaboration between the Cultures of Resistance Network and the American Friends of SOAS (AFSOAS), two postgraduate scholarships will be available in 2014/15 at SOAS, University of London. Valued at £24,000 per student, the scholarships will be used to help their recipients meet the costs of tuition fees at the overseas rate and also help them meet any additional costs (e.g. transport, purchasing books, research costs) associated with their stay in London.