From harvest festivals to ancestral rituals, heirloom rice is at the heart of many communities in Malaysia. In this episode, we explore some chapters from the story of Malaysia's heirloom rice with Peter Tadam, an eco-tourism operator from Long Semadoh, Elizabeth Gimbad, who works on food system resilience through the NGO SRI MAS, and Gabriel Hii, the co-chair of the Sarawak CSO-SDG Alliance, who connects these local struggles to national and global policy shifts. Together we discuss what makes these grains so special, why preserving them matters more than ever, and how perhaps the future of our food lies not just in innovation, but in honouring what’s already here.

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