Family Kitchens: The Frontline of Climate Adaptation

Local foods such as tubers offer significant ecological benefits as they thrive in Wakatobi’s soil. However, during a community meeting in Tomia, it was revealed that kasoami or saomi, a traditional cassava-based food, has become less popular. This shift isn’t due to a lack of availability; rather, other options are more convenient.

Mama Astuti, from the village of Waiti Barat, is a prime example of this change. She used to eat cassava almost every day when she was younger, but nowadays she usually serves rice to her children instead. The reason is clear: preparing cassava is time-consuming, involving peeling, cleaning, grating, drying, and steaming, whereas rice only needs to be washed and cooked in an electric rice cooker.

In the climate-vulnerable region of Wakatobi, the shift from locally produced, climate-resilient carbohydrates to industrial food, driven by household convenience, has created a new vulnerability: dependence on 'imported' staples. Therefore, preserving and revitalising local food must be recognised and advocated as a critical community-based climate adaptation strategy.

Inherited Vulnerability

The statement “we eat what our parents provide” echoes Social Cognitive Theory, which suggests human behaviour is shaped by the interaction of behaviours, environmental factors, and cognition. In Wakatobi, the preference for imported staples like rice is not an isolated decision but the result of interconnected influences. Parents choose rice for its convenience, an environmental factor shaping daily life.

This is reinforced by cognitive factors—the belief that the fastest and easiest meal is best for the family. This belief is passed down unconsciously to children, who grow up viewing this choice as the norm, perpetuating the behaviour across generations.

This is not just a habit; it is a cycle of vulnerability that is exacerbated by climate change. If left unchecked, this cycle will speed up the loss of local food sources and traditional knowledge, both of which are highly effective tools for adaptation.

Innovating Local Food

If the abandonment of local foods is driven by convenience, the solution must be practical innovation. Methods of processing local tubers need to be simpler and more modern. Just as porang rice is now widely available, it is feasible to develop new products from local tubers. However, this transition requires collaboration between multiple stakeholders: the government, research institutions, the private sector, social movements, families, and young people all need to champion local food as a solution to climate change.

Effective communication is essential. Families should take on the role of local food role models in meaningful ways. Parents can introduce more efficient preparation methods, and young people can use their digital media skills to rebrand kasoami as an icon of climate-friendly resilience, rather than “old-fashioned food”. Campaigns that highlight the nutritional value and climate resilience of local food can encourage behavioural change at a community level.

For these efforts to move beyond discourse, practical collaboration spaces at the village level are needed. Integrating local food strategies into multi-stakeholder work plans will ensure the sustainability of this movement and strengthen community resilience against climate change.

Ultimately, the fight against the climate crisis in Wakatobi does not only take place in the sea or the forest; it begins in the household kitchen. The family kitchen is the last line of defence and the frontline of climate adaptation, safeguarding the independence and ecological legacy of future generations.