In May 2024, FPBM together with HuMa held a Field School activity that lasted for 5 days. The purpose of this activity was to compile the MHA document for Melawi District for Pasak Kebebu and Birapati, with the hope of obtaining the MHA decree from the Regional Government no later than December 2024. FPB targeted to complete two MHA decrees and one Important Area decree by the end of this year. During the activity, there were discussions on legal schemes and regional potentials, as well as advocacy efforts with the Regional Government and KPH to expedite the recognition process of MHA.

On the second day of the Field School implementation held on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Agustinus Agus, the Head of BRWA West Kalimantan and LBBT staff, delivered a session on “Legal Politics and Natural Resources and Current Facts”. The discussion covered issues of MHA and HA recognition, the impact of Dutch colonial history on Indonesia’s natural resource policies, and the relevance of legal politics to indigenous community rights with key questions discussed including understanding of natural resources, community interaction with customary areas, and the evidence and importance of legal recognition. Moving on to the third day of the Field School held on Thursday, May 9, 2024, Solihin from HuMa and AMAN South Sulawesi presented a session on Social and Spatial Analysis. This discussion emphasized the importance of social and spatial mapping for the indigenous communities, Kebebu and Birapati, explained through short films and group presentations. Then, on the fourth day held on Friday, May 10, 2024, there were two main sessions, namely Social Analysis and Mechanisms of Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Customary Communities. The first session highlighted the shift in values ​​towards natural resources from local wisdom to trading assets, while the second session explained the stages of identification, verification, and validation of MHA, as well as the importance of consensus and participatory mapping to avoid conflicts. During this fourth day, participants also actively shared experiences and reflections on social and cultural changes in indigenous communities.

On the last day, the fifth day, a review of the identification document for the submission of Indigenous Customary Law Communities (MHA) and the preparation of Follow-Up Action Plan (RTL) from the Preparation of MHA Documents was carried out. The speakers conveyed that the MHA document should contain information about indigenous communities, customary boundaries, customary laws, sites, and cultures in separate formats according to the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs No. 52. Additionally, there were presentations by Pasak Birapati regarding the identification of MHA Pasak Birapati and a presentation by Pasak Kebebu who also presented their MHA identification. The series of Field School activities was closed with planning for the completion of important documents for MHA submissions, including the Agreement Document, Submission Letter, and MHA Boundary Document.