About Us
‘Under the Banana Tree’ is a network of cultural organisations devoted to preserving and sharing ‘People’s Histories.’ These histories challenge official histories of kings and strongmen, and focus on dynamic histories of social, labour, progressive, and feminist movements. As a network, we support each other in sharing ideas and providing technical advice in preserving archival materials in challenging political and environmental contexts. For the moment, our network is based mostly in Southeast Asia, but we welcome organisations across the Global South with similar challenges.
The name ‘Under the Banana Tree’ stems from a story about an Indonesian leftist sent to Buru Island prison camp, during the murder and disappearance of close to 2 million leftists and communist sympathisers in Indonesia in 1965. Following the advice of an agricultural scientist, writers hid their materials in a plastic bag under a banana tree, which absorbed the water which would have damaged them. This speaks to both the fragility of materials related to the Left in Southeast Asia and the technical support needed to preserve them.
Under The Banana Tree Archival Network comprises of multiple partner organisations:
Individuals
- Professor Ling Zhang – Purchase College, State University of New York
- Jason Soo, Filmmaker
Project Coordinators:
- Zikri Rahman, Pusat Sejarah Rakyat
- Professor Su Lin Lewis, Department of History, University of Bristol
- Eef Vermeij and Hyojin Pak, International Institute of Social History
Our Funders include:
The Arts and Humanities Research Council and International Institute of Social History
Email Us
underthebananatree@pusatsejarahrakyat.org
