Amy Eisenberg

Kam community and intergenerational education

An expert story by Amy Eisenberg, PhD @ Center for World Indigenous Studies and The University of Arizona

In cooperation with John Amato, Registered Nurse, Photographer and Owner @ JP Imaging and Technical Editing

The Kam people of Southern China have a closely intertwined reciprocal relationship with nature. This is reflected in the importance of singing in their culture. Kam songs embody the sounds of nature, together with Kam history, stories, culture and teachings. Kam children study historical songs that recount their traditions with great care.

Uniquely significant relationship with plants

The Kam possess unique cultural heritage knowledge systems and identities. They have a very well-developed comprehensive ethnobotanical inventory. Their diverse pharmacopoeia of traditional medicine includes hundreds of useful plant species that have been employed for centuries to prevent and cure disease.

When a Kam baby is born, each family in the village visits the mountainside to plant a tree. Trees embody benevolent spirits, and their leaves have healing properties, as does the rainwater that collects on their branches. The Kam believe a tree’s spirit will ensure the peace and safety of the Kam village. If the trees are healthy and strong, the more prosperous and harmonious the village and its residents will be. In many Kam areas, ceremonies are performed to pay homage to the spirits of ancient and sacred trees, revered by the Kam. These trees are highly respected and protected.

The Kam way of life threatened by economic challenges

Economic demands are threatening Kam communities’ abilities to preserve their natural and cultural heritage and maintain their unique knowledge systems and identities.

The Kam people are primarily rice farmers, pisciculturists, agroforesters and carpenters. Professional carpentry is a skill that is passed down from generation to generation and it takes many years to master.

Sunrise on the western section of Gaoxiu village with women’s drum tower © John Amato
Traditional construction methods of a drum tower © John Amato

As it is very difficult to make ends meet as a Kam agroforester, in some areas, this is no longer a viable sustainable livelihood. Increasingly, Kam people are leaving their rural villages to work in cities, in order to earn enough money to feed their families and pay for their children’s mainstream education.

Preserving invaluable Kam heritage for future generations

Kam elders provide the vital leadership and continuity by conveying the importance of conserving Kam culture and livelihoods. To keep this alive, in practice, they need greater support for sustainable agriculture, pisciculture, agroforestry, traditional medicine, economic improvement and education.

Kam agroforesters need a better price for their forest resources. Kam children and young adults need financial assistance in order to complete their education.

Respecting and sustaining Kam intergenerational knowledge contributes to ensuring that inclusive quality education is available for equitable development and lifelong learning. In addition, it will ensure the integrity of the environment through proper management, which is essential for the health, safety and welfare of the Kam people.

Nagaemc sius keip wap pap jenc jemh.
Dens lagx nyenc Gaeml lyangp dos kgal.
Saemh xonc saemh map kgal menh dos.
Soh emv jenc nyangt yungt angl hac.

As wildflowers bloom on the mountainside,
So the Kam in their hearts love to sing.
From generation to generation, they pass on this gift of song
So the melody in mountain, forest and brookside will ring.

Contribution to the sustainable development goals post-2030

Industrial sectors

  • Agriculture, forestry and fishing
  • Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
  • Construction
  • Education
  • Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use
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    Check the authors' bios

    Amy Eisenberg

    Amy Eisenberg

    Center for World Indigenous Studies and The University of Arizona

    PhD

    Dr. Amy Eisenberg earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Arid Lands Resource Sciences: Ethnoecology and Native American Studies from the University of Arizona. She has an MS and BS in Biology: Botany and Scientific and Fine Art. Amy is a scientific artist whose work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and has been exhibited internationally and nationally. She is a steward in the Tohono O’odham Haki:dag – sacred homeland of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and a botanist, ethnoecologist, organic sustainable agriculturist and agroforester and Associate Scholar with Center for World Indigenous Studies.

    Amy teaches at the University of Arizona and was Licensed Researcher with the Hopi Tribe – Cultural Preservation Office on the International Repatriation of Hopi and Pueblo Human Remains and Sacred Funerary Offerings, which were taken from Mesa Verde and exported without permit or permission. They were in the National Museum of Finland since 1909 and came home in September 2020 for proper and rightful ceremonial reburial back in Mesa Verde where they were once laid to rest.

    Amy was International Conservation Liaison and Research Fellow for Yu Shan National Park and Professor at Yushan Tribal College, Formosa.

    Amy was Earth Island Institute Director of Conservation in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan.

    Amy conducted participatory research with the Aymar Marka (Aymara Nation) in the Andes of Arica y Parinacota, Chile through USAID and the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group Project.

    As International Expert at the Research Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology and Visiting Professor in the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University in Xiangxi Tujia – Miao Autonomous Region of China, Amy conducted collaborative UNESCO-LINKS UNPFII UNDESA research with the Kam people of China and ministries responsible for ethnic development.

    Amy was Agriculture and Community Development Cooperative Research and Extension Agent at Northern Marianas College and Organic Sustainable Agriculture and Agroforestry Researcher at the College of Micronesia.

    John Amato

    John Amato

    JP Imaging and Technical Editing

    Registered Nurse, Photographer and Owner

    John Amato is a Registered Nurse who has worked in ICU, ER and medivac. He has been a professional photographer for many years working in a number of areas around the world, having lived and worked in China, Chile, Tibet, Nepal, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands and the Southwest US with First Nations, as well as Kanakanak Tribal Hospital in Dillingham, Alaska. Natural history and visual anthropology are his emphasis in photo-documentation. He is affiliated with Center for World Indigenous Studies and is Owner of JP Imaging and Technical Editing, LLC.

    Contribution to story

    • This is “HABITAT: Embracing Change in the Post 2030 Future” Exhibition designed and curated by Dr Sandra Piesik, 3 ideas B.V in collaboration with HABITAT Coalition and VITO
    • Copy editing by Katleen Vandormael, Communication Manager G-STIC, VITO
    • Cover image: Playing the lushen upon the completion of the new drum tower © John Amato
    • “HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet” published by Thames & Hudson
    • “HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet” published by Abrams
    • “Habitat: Traditionelle Bauweisen für den globalen Wandel” published by DETAIL Special
    • “Habiter la planète: Atlas mondial de l’architecture vernaculaire” published by Flammarion First Prize Winner at “J’aime le livre d’art”, Paris 2017
    • “HABITAT: Arquitectura vernácula para un planeta cambiante” published by Blume

    Check the authors' bios

    Amy Eisenberg

    Amy Eisenberg

    Center for World Indigenous Studies and The University of Arizona

    PhD

    Dr. Amy Eisenberg earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Arid Lands Resource Sciences: Ethnoecology and Native American Studies from the University of Arizona. She has an MS and BS in Biology: Botany and Scientific and Fine Art. Amy is a scientific artist whose work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and has been exhibited internationally and nationally. She is a steward in the Tohono O’odham Haki:dag – sacred homeland of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and a botanist, ethnoecologist, organic sustainable agriculturist and agroforester and Associate Scholar with Center for World Indigenous Studies.

    Amy teaches at the University of Arizona and was Licensed Researcher with the Hopi Tribe – Cultural Preservation Office on the International Repatriation of Hopi and Pueblo Human Remains and Sacred Funerary Offerings, which were taken from Mesa Verde and exported without permit or permission. They were in the National Museum of Finland since 1909 and came home in September 2020 for proper and rightful ceremonial reburial back in Mesa Verde where they were once laid to rest.

    Amy was International Conservation Liaison and Research Fellow for Yu Shan National Park and Professor at Yushan Tribal College, Formosa.

    Amy was Earth Island Institute Director of Conservation in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan.

    Amy conducted participatory research with the Aymar Marka (Aymara Nation) in the Andes of Arica y Parinacota, Chile through USAID and the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group Project.

    As International Expert at the Research Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology and Visiting Professor in the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University in Xiangxi Tujia – Miao Autonomous Region of China, Amy conducted collaborative UNESCO-LINKS UNPFII UNDESA research with the Kam people of China and ministries responsible for ethnic development.

    Amy was Agriculture and Community Development Cooperative Research and Extension Agent at Northern Marianas College and Organic Sustainable Agriculture and Agroforestry Researcher at the College of Micronesia.

    John Amato

    John Amato

    JP Imaging and Technical Editing

    Registered Nurse, Photographer and Owner

    John Amato is a Registered Nurse who has worked in ICU, ER and medivac. He has been a professional photographer for many years working in a number of areas around the world, having lived and worked in China, Chile, Tibet, Nepal, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands and the Southwest US with First Nations, as well as Kanakanak Tribal Hospital in Dillingham, Alaska. Natural history and visual anthropology are his emphasis in photo-documentation. He is affiliated with Center for World Indigenous Studies and is Owner of JP Imaging and Technical Editing, LLC.

    Contribution to story

    • This is “HABITAT: Embracing Change in the Post 2030 Future” Exhibition designed and curated by Dr Sandra Piesik, 3 ideas B.V in collaboration with HABITAT Coalition and VITO
    • Copy editing by Katleen Vandormael, Communication Manager G-STIC, VITO
    • Cover image: Playing the lushen upon the completion of the new drum tower © John Amato
    • “HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet” published by Thames & Hudson
    • “HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet” published by Abrams
    • “Habitat: Traditionelle Bauweisen für den globalen Wandel” published by DETAIL Special
    • “Habiter la planète: Atlas mondial de l’architecture vernaculaire” published by Flammarion First Prize Winner at “J’aime le livre d’art”, Paris 2017
    • “HABITAT: Arquitectura vernácula para un planeta cambiante” published by Blume