Indigenous communities make up roughly 5% of the world's population, but they hold generations of knowledge about the plants around them. Historically, very little of that value has made its way back to the communities the knowledge actually came from. 

Chef James Won, a French-knighted chef and founder of Serumpun Sarawak, a UNESCO-endorsed conservation movement working with the Sarawak state government to document and protect the food knowledge of Borneo's 34 ethnic communities talks about the commercial value of Sarawak’s indigenous produce. 

We get into:


Conservation economics: How commercialisation and conservation can actually work together.


What's in it for indigenous communities: James describes himself as only a temporary custodian of Serumpun Sarawak's IP, with produce and ownership belonging to the indigenous communities. 


Going global: What James learned about promoting a local ingredient internationally.


Ingredients to watch: Which indigenous ingredients he believes are ready for export, and the challenges standing in the way.


Responsible sourcing: What a business should put in place to source and export an indigenous ingredient in a way that benefits the community it came from, not just the exporter.

Indigenous communities make up roughly 5% of the world's population, but they hold generations of knowledge about the plants around them. Historically, very little of that value has made its way back to the communities the knowledge actually came from. Chef James Won, a French-knighted chef and founder of Serumpun Sarawak, a UNESCO-endorsed conservation movement working with the Sarawak state government to document and protect the food knowledge of Borneo's 34 ethnic communities talks about the commercial value of Sarawak’s indigenous produce.&nbsp;We get into:<ul><li>Conservation economics: How commercialisation and conservation can actually work together.</li><li>What's in it for indigenous communities: James describes himself as only a temporary custodian of Serumpun Sarawak's IP, with produce and ownership belonging to the indigenous communities.&nbsp;</li><li>Going global: What James learned about promoting a local ingredient internationally.</li><li>Ingredients to watch: Which indigenous ingredients he believes are ready for export, and the challenges standing in the way.</li><li>Responsible sourcing: What a business should put in place to source and export an indigenous ingredient in a way that benefits the community it came from, not just the exporter.</li></ul>

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line