ABOUT US
OUR VISION
Indigenous Peoples are bridge builders to a more equitable and caring world, living in harmony with nature.
OUR MISSION
TIP promotes the work of dynamic and innovative change makers from indigenous peoples’ communities and their allies to defend and champion Indigenous Food Systems as a means to spark joy, community health and wellbeing, food sovereignty, climate resilience, and peace around the world.
Indigenous communities can help to progress humanity’s pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals by restoring sustainable resilient food systems that generate wellbeing and livelihoods and embody matriarchal society values of nurture, consensus, sharing and peace.
Indigenous people restoring food systems
Protected environment and abundant produce
Wellbeing and livelihoods
Peace, harmony and responsible consumption
OUR HISTORY
The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP) was established in May 2010 as a response to the growing awareness that the well-being of future generations can be sustained and enhanced by nurturing the traditional biological and cultural knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and local communities.
TIP set out to be the bridge that purposefully brings together indigenous communities, multicultural research and social organisations to forge new solutions and a “new science of complexity based on modern and traditional knowledge for the design of resilient food and agricultural systems that would have lower carbon and ecological footprints.”
The regeneration of indigenous peoples food systems and agrobiodiversity has been a major funding priority of The Christensen Fund (TCF), who were eager to empower indigenous peoples organizations and have been a long-term and dedicated supporter of TIP since its inception. TIP was established in 2010 in Cusco, Peru under the guidance of The Christian Fund (TCF).
TIP is hosted in Rome by Bioversity International/CGIAT which empowers indigenous peoples to joint research, policy discussions and knowledge dissemination across a much larger pool of interested experts and development workers.
OUR BENCHMARKS
Over the past 10 years WE ARE proud to have:
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Pioneered Indigenous Food Festivals in Mongolia, Sweden, Northern Kenya and India.
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We worked with Slow Food International, the Government of Meghalaya, NESFAS and 41 indigenous communities of Meghalaya to organise in Shillong, North East India, the 4-day ITM 2015 where 148 indigenous communities from 48 countries participated
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Raised awareness, corrected misinformation and built solidarity networks across hundreds and thousands of workshops, dialogues and event participants.
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Commissioned research and collated case studies on the principles of intercultural agroecology schools and indigenous wellbeing studies.
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Initiated a unique Indigenous Fellowship Programme as its practical Theory of Change by developing critical skills in indigenous youths to drive change in their communities and organisations.
OUR PEOPLE
Phrang Roy, Coordinator, TIP
Phrang has a history of grassroots work in Western India in 1971 navigating bureaucracy, discovering the role of women as indigenous knowledge holders. Whilst at the UN (IFAD) he explored innovative ways of reaching out to the rural poor and led agricultural and rural development projects and policy. He was selected in 2002 to be IFAD’s Assistant President and became the first indigenous person to be appointed to the level of Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. He then went on to join the Christensen Fund in 2007 that helped him discover his hidden interests in the ecology and biocultural diversity, before he took up the challenge of establishing TIP in Rome. Phrang is also Chairman of the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS), the Meghalaya Water Foundation and in the past served as a Member of the International Panel of Experts of Sustainable Food (IPES-Food), Member of the the Advisory Board for the Agroecology Fund, International Councillor for Slow Food International and Assistant President to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Phrang is supported by a long standing team of
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Scientists
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Researchers
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Field experts
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Consultants
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Indigenous fellows
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Volunteers
….that capture the same diversity and enthusiasm for the mission as TIP’s wider network.
Dr Charlotte Milbank, Research Programme Manager
As the Research Programme Manager at TIP, Charlotte is overseeing the design and implementation of TIP’s research activities at the global level. Charlotte holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Epidemiology and Geography at the University of Cambridge, specialising in sustainable food security and nutrition, with research based in northeast India. She remains an active member of the Global Hub on Indigenous Peoples, and as a Research Fellow at FAO, played a key role in the championing of Indigenous Peoples in the run-up and following the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
Andrea Selva, Special Assistant
As Special Assistant, Andrea provides effective and efficient administrative, finance, HR support and coordination services to TIP. He is also a liaison for activities with UN Agencies, TIP’s field partners and supports TIP’s Coordinator in the promotion of Indigenous Peoples Food Systems. With decades of field experience in the USA, Brazil, and Kenya. Andrea has worked with TIP since 2016.
Ajay Nayak, Consultant
Ajay Nayak sustainable habitat and communications strategist in the social development space. His past experience as a Managing Editor at a media house translates into enterprise modelling as outcomes of his rural and urban projects. His primary concerns are the inclusive development of resilient local ecologies, community mobilization, and participative reconstruction. He has been the communications and habitat consultant for TIP and NESFAS since 2015, starting with the Indigenous Terra Madre at Shillong.
Anandi Soans, Consultant
Anandi Soans has 20+ years of international experience working in the food industry and later moving to the social sector primarily working in the realms of food, agriculture, nutrition and Indigenous Peoples Food Systems. She was the South Asia coordinator for Slow Food International, and the coordinator for ITM (Indigenous Terra Madre) global network, and has organised 2011 ITM Jokkmokk and 2015 ITM Shillong events. She worked for UN FAO in their Indigenous Peoples Unit during the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, for the Maharashtra Government Nutrition Mission and the Barilla Foundation, founded AConnect and is a consultant for TIP and NESFAS.
OUR VALUES
TIP adopts indigenous values in its work. Partners are united by common beliefs in the importance of adopting an ecosystem approach, being accountable for the next 7 generations and maintaining a fair, respectful and sacred relationship in nature. Principles in our Code of Ethics are
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Agrobiodiversity
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Nurturing
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Tolerance, patience and trust
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Respectful and reciprocal
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Providing access to better quality evidence
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Bold spokerpersons
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Traditional with innovation.
TIP’s Code of Ethics is a living document that evolves and matures with the organisation’s experiences. It draws upon best international practices in developing ethical frameworks, including inter alia the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Code of Ethics, CBD Akwé: Kon Guidelines; International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.
OUR NETWORK
THE ORGANIZATION AND PEOPLE WE SERVE
TIP works to support four main groups of people with our mission to cover the gaps between indigenous knowledge and global policies:
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Non-profits who serve indigenous communities directly and may include community-based organisations.
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Indigenous Youths with the desire, passion and potential to become spokespersons and leaders of change for their organisations and communities.
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Indigenous Food Systems Experts, Agroecologists and Researchers who join and support TIP’s network to access the Learning Platform, case studies and resources provided. They help facilitate dialogues across different communication channels, help disseminate new research, engaging with indigenous leaders, communities and organisations across diverse research projects.
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Bi-lateral organisations and Working Groups focusing on Indigenous Food System rely on TIP as a trusted partner for input into policy frameworks, access to case studies and as a knowledge partner on shared progressive goals.
OUR PARTNERS
