Beyond Essentialism: Women’s Ecological Agency and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Kampung Adat Dukuh, Garut, West Java, Indonesia

Gina Giftia Azmiana Delilah (Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung)
Neng Hannah (Postgraduate Program, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung)
Amadea Selma Agnia Elfath (Department of Agribusiness Management, Vocational School, IPB University, Bogor)
Nur Syakiran Akmal Ismail (College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah)

Sawwa: Jurnal Studi Gender
Vol. 20 No. 2 (2025): October

The global environmental crisis needs a critical reevaluation of traditional knowledge systems and gender dimensions in ecological management. This study examines the ecological role of women in Kampung Adat Dukuh, Garut, West Java, Indonesia, from a materialist ecofeminist perspective to deconstruct essentialist assumptions regarding women's “natural” closeness to nature. Utilizing qualitative ethnographic methods, this study highlights how women, often marginalized in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), act as vital ecological mediators. Their practices, including ritual leadership and subsistence work, demonstrate that ecological agency is socially constructed rather than biologically inherent. This research positions indigenous women as active contributors, enhancing ecofeminist theory and informing gender-sensitive conservation strategies that recognize the socio-political aspects of women's labor.