Drawing on three years of sustained field research, this report presents the work of three Canada–Myanmar IDRC Research Fellows—the Earthkeepers team—based at The Highland Institute. The research was supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) through its Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) initiative.
At the heart of the report is a substantial and detailed body of material on Indigenous ecological knowledge and local understandings of climate change, generated through sustained collaboration between village communities in two districts of Eastern Nagaland and the Earthkeepers team. Community members were not simply respondents but active contributors, shaping the focus, priorities, and form of what was documented. The material reflects extensive field engagement, careful documentation, and close attention to local perspectives, practices, and ways of expression. Taken together, it represents a significant research output and a strong return on the investment made in this project.
Rather than a final synthesis, the report should be understood as a first analytical phase. While the documentation is rich and comprehensive, time constraints did not allow for the full depth of interpretation, comparison, and thematic analysis that this material merits. The report, therefore, provides a robust descriptive and evidentiary foundation from which further analytical work, reflection, and publication can follow. Building on this foundation, The Highland Institute intends to seek additional support to extend the research through deeper analysis, co-authored outputs with community partners, and future publications.
Eastern Nagaland, where market expansion has been uneven and partial, remains a significant repository of traditional ecological knowledge. In a period of rapid social, economic, and environmental change, the material documented through this project highlights both the urgency and the potential for continued collaborative and village-based research on Indigenous knowledge and climate change impacts. This report is intended not as an endpoint, but as a platform for further work across the eastern districts.
The Earthkeepers team undertook this work with a strong awareness of the history of colonial and extractive research in Nagaland. Considerable effort was made to work collaboratively and to move beyond more conventional research approaches. This commitment also shaped the writing of the report, which is intended for multiple audiences, including village partners, policymakers, activists, and academic readers. In places, the language used by community elders has been retained in transcription and translation, reflecting its rhythm and expressiveness rather than being recast into standard academic English. We hope this approach conveys something of the voices and perspectives that shaped the work, and encourages others to continue refining practices for collaborative, respectful, and non-extractive research.
Catriona Child
Earthkeepers Project Co-ordinator
Executive Director
The Highland Institute