Sago-Based Food Culture in Indonesia's Mentawai Islands Faces Extinction

In the Mentawai Islands, located off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the traditional food culture centered around sago flour is facing a crisis. In particular, 'kapurut,' a dish made by wrapping sago dough in sago leaves and grilling it, has been deeply ingrained in the lives of local communities but is now gradually disappearing. Keisha Sapondoro, a resident of Sirilanggai Hamlet, Malancan Village, North Siberut District, Mentawai Islands, was skillfully preparing the dough. As dusk approached on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, she rolled a mixture of sago flour into a long, elongated shape, approximately 40 centimeters, and wrapped it in sago leaves. After adding a little salt, she neatly arranged these rolls on a wood-fired stove. About 30 minutes later, the aroma of burning sago leaves filled her kitchen. That evening, around 20 sticks of kapurut were served with side dishes as dinner for the journalist staying at her home. It had a natural savory taste, combined with the fragrant aroma of grilled sago leaves. Simple, yet it offered a warmth rarely found in other foods. While rice has become the staple food in many parts of the archipelago, in the interior of the Mentawai Islands, kapurut remains a part of the daily life for some families. This local food made from sago is not just a stomach filler, but a heritage that connects the Mentawai people with the forests that have sustained their lives for centuries. For Keisha, kapurut is the food that raised her. She clearly remembers when rice was not yet the main meal for the community in her village. 'Before there was rice, we ate sago, taro, and yams,' she said. To this day, she still cooks sago regularly, especially when fish is available as a side dish for her family's meal. 'If there is fish, I cook sago. It's tastier to eat kapurut with fish than to eat rice.' Sago also provides a longer feeling of fullness compared to rice. Besides processing it into kapurut, the Mentawai people are familiar with various other sago-based dishes. One of them is 'kombong,' a sago dough mixture placed inside a bamboo tube and then grilled. However, this traditional food culture is facing a dual pressure from changing dietary habits and deforestation. Influences from urban areas and improved access to more convenient food options are causing younger generations to move away from sago-based diets. Simultaneously, the reduction of forests due to plantation development and logging threatens the habitat of sago palms, making traditional sago harvesting difficult. If this trend continues, the sago food culture, a symbol of the long-standing symbiotic relationship between the Mentawai people and their forests, is at risk of disappearing.