Bandung, August 2025 – A grassroots community called Penaku has initiated a movement to preserve and disseminate ancient manuscripts in their region. The community collects and safeguards forgotten texts, working with librarians, historians, and cultural activists to document, provide access, and share the cultural and literary heritage contained within these manuscripts with the public.
The Penaku Community is composed of volunteers, cultural enthusiasts, and local residents who are deeply concerned about intangible cultural heritage. Their activities include tracing manuscripts kept in private homes, photographing and digitizing the texts, hosting public readings, organizing interpretive discussions, and conducting workshops that rewrite and modernize the texts to make them more accessible for younger generations.
The community’s motivation stems from the growing concern that many ancient manuscripts are deteriorating, lost, or left unattended, leaving the historical, linguistic, and aesthetic values within them at risk of being forgotten. They believe that access to cultural literacy must be maintained to ensure that local identity remains strong and visible across generations.
The methods employed involve intensive fieldwork, including identifying manuscripts, interviewing owners, digitizing and preserving documents, collaborating with local libraries and museums, and providing public access through online media and local exhibitions. The community also invites collaboration with academics for content analysis and for the preservation of local languages and expressions found in the manuscripts.
Despite facing challenges such as limited financial resources, technological constraints, copyright and ownership issues, and the absence of official documentation, the movement has gained strong support from younger generations who view cultural identity as a source of pride for their community.
This initiative strongly aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), by broadening public access to cultural heritage as part of historical and cultural literacy, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), by supporting the preservation of local culture and identity as key components of community sustainability.
Writers: Evi Nursanti Rukmana, Febriyanti Bifakhlina, Shelpi Nur Awaliyah
