From the remote village of Nongtraw, accessible only by a 3,500-step forest descent, emerged a quiet yet powerful voice for food sovereignty: Kong Bibiana Ranee. At the first Mei-Ram Ew (Mother Earth) Festival in 2010, she stood before a gathering of indigenous custodians and raised a concern that few dared to articulate. The younger generation is drifting away from their traditional food roots,” She raised. It was a bold call to action, marking the beginning of a movement.
A mother, farmer, and community leader, Bibiana was among the first to champion the revival of millet in the state of Meghalaya. Millet, a once-forgotten grain that has since become central to local agrobiodiversity efforts. Through her work with the Khatarshnong Socio Organisation and Village Development Council, she has promoted traditional knowledge, ecological resilience, and community empowerment.
It was her community that first showcased Shah Shiahkrot (Smilax ferox), which is an endangered medicinal root, during that same festival. Today, it stands proudly in Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, celebrated by both rural and urban communities across India.
Bibiana’s voice has transcended borders. She represented her communities at Terra Madre in Turin (2010, 2012), at the Custodian Farmers’ Gathering in Nepal (2012), and was the sole delegate from North East India at the first Indigenous Terra Madre in Jokkmokk, Sweden. As a founding board member of NESFAS, she helped prepare and lead the global Indigenous Terra Madre, which was held in Meghalaya in 2015, hosting 169 communities from 62 countries.
Kong Bibiana is more than a custodian farmer; she is a catalyst for regeneration who is reclaiming food, identity, and sovereignty one seed, one story, and one step at a time.
