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From the perspective of anthropology, this paper aims to explore why the festival targeting both environmental preservation and religious and cultural revitalization have been launched on the island of Sumba and how its experiences can contribute to strengthening and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia in general. I conducted research in Haharu, East Sumba, from 1985 to 1988, and have followed up the subsequent social and cultural changes. Sumba is one of the most sparsely populated and impoverished regions in Indonesia. The Sumba people were economically poor, but maintained their own rich heritage of cultures and custms. Since the 2000s, however, the process of marginalization has been drastic. They have suffered from the pressure of expanding agro-industry and mining. Most land on the beachside has been purchased and fenced off for future tourism development. Protesting the hardships the people face, in 2012, local NGOs collaborating with Sumbanese ritual specialists launched Festival Wai Humba (Festival of Sumbanese Water). Wai means water in Sumbanese, and symbolizes a source of all human activities. I researched it in 2016 and interviewed the committee members and other attendants. It aims not only to promote environmental protection but also to preserve the cultural heritage of Sumba, in terms of which the executive committee emphasizes the Sumbanese indigenous and local knowledge (ILK). The research shows the importance of  a network connecting local communities all over Sumba and the translation of ILK into more adaptable and understandable knowledge. The two points are made possible by the collaboration between community leaders and NGOs, and required in order to negotiate with local and central governments and private companies. The case study of the Festival can be adapted to solve various difficulties many indigenous communities in Southeast Asia.

ILK; Sumba; NGO