Maria Theresa Teme Longa

Maria Theresa Teme Longa is the Community Leader of Suku Ngate in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. A native daughter of Wogo Village, she has made it her life’s work to keep ancestral culture alive. Rooted in the highlands of Flores, she leads with both conviction and care, rallying her community around traditional identity, the spirit of mutual cooperation, and a vision of development rooted in local wisdom. Under her watch, Wogo Village has become a living example of what it means to honor the past while building for the future, from preserving indigenous practices to safeguarding local food as edible heritage. A steady and grounding presence in her community, she is especially an inspiration to the women of her village who understand, as she does, that culture is not just remembered, it is lived.

Maria Theresa Teme Longa adalah pemimpin komunitas Suku Ngate di Nusa Tenggara Timur. Sebagai perempuan asli Desa Wogo, ia banyak terlibat dalam menjaga budaya dan tradisi leluhur agar tetap hidup di tengah masyarakat. Berasal dari dataran tinggi Flores, Maria memimpin komunitasnya dengan semangat gotong royong dan nilai-nilai lokal yang kuat. Di bawah kepemimpinannya, Desa Wogo menjadi contoh bagaimana tradisi bisa terus dijaga sambil tetap berkembang, mulai dari mempertahankan praktik adat hingga menjaga pangan lokal sebagai bagian dari warisan budaya. Bagi banyak perempuan di desanya, Maria adalah sosok yang menginspirasi. Ia menunjukkan bahwa budaya bukan hanya untuk dikenang, tetapi juga dijalani dan diteruskan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.