They came from all over Asia to take part in the Peoples Camp on Food Sovereignty and Rice Festival, and have been proudly asserting the “culture” in “agriculture” during their time in Hong Kong. Lighting up the days in Victoria Park with their music, songs, chants, dances and performances, three groups in particular have captured the hearts and minds of people during the Peoples Action Week.

The all women’s drumming and performance team of the Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED) has been enthralling participants, and rallying crowds during events and marches in Hong Kong. SRED is a grassroots based support NGO fighting for the rights, welfare and recognition of the Dalits (the most marginalised caste of people) in the State of Tamil Nadu. The Dalits in question are mostly women landless peasants and plantation workers.

Equally mesmerising to all at Victoria Park and on the streets of Hong Kong is Sinagbayan or “Art for the People”. Sinagbayan is an organisation of alternative artists and grassroots-based cultural organisations in the Philippines. It utilises the power of the performing and visual arts to reflect Philippine social realities and mobilise the people towards social action and change. During the Peoples Camp and Rice Festival they will be highlighting the ill-effects of the WTO “Agreement on Agriculture” (AoA) on the lives of the people through dance and visual performances.

Farmers from Rajasthan, whose presence in Hong Kong and the Peoples Camp on Food Sovereignty has been facilitated by support NGO CECOEDECON, have been the highlight of the Hong Kong and foreign media as they burst out into songs and dances on their lives as farmers, and their resistance of the WTO!