Valelata: Protecting a Sky Aelan for Future Generations
Through the Sky Aelan initiative, the Valelata tribe is exploring ways to protect and sustainably develop this important landscape for future generations.
High in the heart of Guadalcanal, Valelata overlooks the upper catchment of Tina River and the surrounding landscape. For the Valelata tribe, this is more than just a beautiful place. It is a place of culture, history, nature, and identity.
Sky Aelan is not just an idea. It is a real place. It refers to the higher landscapes, generally 400 metres and above sea level, where important sources of water, fertile land, forests, and other natural resources are found.
What happens in these high places matters to everyone below. Water flows from the mountains through the rivers and down to the coast and the sea. The forests and fertile ground support life and communities.
These places also hold our history. Some Sky Aelans are places where our ancestors lived and travelled. Some contain sacred sites, burial sites, and places of cultural importance.
That is why these places need to be respected.
For Valelata, protecting the Sky Aelan means protecting nature while also respecting culture, traditional knowledge, and the history of the people connected to the land.
Valelata also has opportunities for research, hiking, bird watching, recreation, cultural learning, and peaceful retreats. These activities can help people connect with the landscape while creating opportunities for the community.
Through the Sky Aelan initiative, the Valelata community is looking at how this important place can be protected and sustainably developed for the future.
A Sky Aelan is where water begins, where forests grow, where our ancestors lived, and where important cultural places remain.
It is a place we all need to respect.
Valelata is a Sky Aelan worth protecting, for the community today and for generations to come.
#indigenousguardianship #IKI #indigenous
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