Bakudapan Food Study Group

What Bakudapan Food Study Group does

Bakudapan Food Study Group is an independent, non-profit cultural study collective based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, founded in 2015 by Elia Nurvista and Khairunnisa after their graduation from Gadjah Mada University's Cultural Anthropology Department. The collective conducts interdisciplinary research on food politics through anthropological, artistic, ethnographic, and practice-based methods, producing publications, journals, films, workshops, reading clubs (Pekan Membaca), and residency programs in Indonesia and abroad. Its core outputs include the Jurnal Bakudapan publication (Volume #1 'Fast and Foodrious' released in 2017), thematic research projects (Fast & Foodrious, Independent Food, Foodemic, 264, Mapping Food Politics, Food at the End of the World), the Foodemic recipe series, and an online shop (Toko) selling publications and merchandise via bakudapan.com.

The underlying technology stack is limited to a bilingual (Indonesian/English) WordPress website functioning as a publication hub, supplemented by standard social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) and an e-commerce storefront. There is no proprietary software, AI/ML capability, or SaaS surface; the 'product' is the cumulative corpus of essays, recipes, residency documentation, and journal volumes. The business model is non-commercial in orientation: revenue is derived only from Toko merchandise and likely periodic project grants, and is reinvested into collective activities. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market is community-led: an open submission model (Kirim Tulisan), public reading sessions, and word-of-mouth outreach through a network that includes KUNCI Cultural Studies Center, TANAH (Singapore), Bamboo Curtain Studio (Taiwan), Lifepatch, Cemeti Institute for Art and Society, and others. The collective serves primarily academics, artists, and food-justice advocates in Indonesia with secondary international audiences reached through cross-border residencies and collaborations.

Name

Bakudapan Food Study Group

Legal name

Bakudapan Food Study Group

Website

https://bakudapan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bakudapan Food Study Group is a Yogyakarta-based, non-profit cultural collective founded in 2015 that conducts interdisciplinary research on Indonesian food politics through publications, reading clubs, residencies, and workshops. It serves academics, artists, and food-justice advocates via its bilingual website, journal, and online shop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Research and Food Studies

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Food studies research
• Food politics publications
• Cultural anthropology collective
• Interdisciplinary art projects
• Food sovereignty research

Headquarters

HQ city

Yogyakarta

HQ country

Indonesia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Shop / Merchandise: Bakudapan operates an online shop (Toko) on its website where publications, journals, and potentially other merchandise are sold. Revenue from the shop supports the collective's activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bakudapan Food Study Group is an independent, community-led study collective in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, that conducts interdisciplinary research on food politics, culture, and society. The group produces publications (including Jurnal Bakudapan), essays, recipes, and research projects, and runs reading clubs, discussion sessions, workshops, residencies, and art-based projects on food-related topics.

Product overview

Bakudapan Food Study Group is a food study collective that operates primarily through a website platform for publishing research and content. Their core offerings include the annual Jurnal Bakudapan publication, ongoing research projects (Fast & Foodrious, Independent Food, Foodemic, 264, Mapping Food Politics), community programs (Pekan Membaca, Pekan Menonton), workshop series (Unpacking Embodied Knowledge, Living Leftover), residency programs in Jombang and Taiwan, a coffee stall (Lapak Kopi Bakudapan), and a shop for publications. The collective focuses on interdisciplinary food studies examining politics, culture, economics, and social dimensions of food.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jurnal Bakudapan (Bakudapan Journal) An annual print and digital journal publication from the collective documenting research, essays, and field studies on food politics and culture. Targeted at researchers, academics, and the general public interested in food studies.
• Toko Bakudapan (Bakudapan Shop)

Quantifiable outcome

• Bakudapan has conducted multiple multi-year research projects including Fast & Foodrious (2015), Independent Food (2016), 264 residency in Taiwan (2016), Living Leftover (2017), Food at the End of the World collaboration with TANAH (2018), and ongoing essay and reading club publications.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sekolah PagesanganminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Sekolah Pagesangan (a local food knowledge preservation initiative) collaborated with Bakudapan as part of the 'Unpacking Embodied Knowledge' and 'Please Eat Wildly' workshop series, focusing on preserving local food knowledge in urban Jakarta.
• Wild Vegetable SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Wild Vegetable School partnered with Bakudapan on discussions and workshops focused on preserving local and wild food knowledge, as part of the collective's ongoing work on edible weeds and traditional food practices.
• TANAHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018TANAH (an interdisciplinary collective engaged in food and nature-themed research, dialogue, and interventions, based in Singapore) partnered with Bakudapan on the 'Food at the End of the World' project starting January 2018. The collaboration included salon sessions, joint research on Indonesian food politics, and mapping the food system from a young urban perspective. Supported by soft/WALL/studs and Cemeti Institute for Art and Society.
• LifepatchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Lifepatch (citizen initiative in art, science, and technology based in Yogyakarta) served as the venue host for the 'Food at the End of the World' salon session held on 20 January 2018, organized by Bakudapan and TANAH.
• Cemeti Institute for Art and SocietyminorOthers · 1 January 2018Cemeti Institute for Art and Society (Yogyakarta-based art institute) provided support for the 'Food at the End of the World' project collaboration between Bakudapan and TANAH in 2018.
• soft/WALL/studsminorOthers · 1 January 2018soft/WALL/studs provided support for the 'Food at the End of the World' project collaboration between Bakudapan and TANAH in 2018.
• Bamboo Curtain StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2016Bamboo Curtain Studio (Taipei, Taiwan) hosted the Bakudapan '264' residency in August–September 2016. During this residency, members Gatari Surya Kusuma and Khairunnisa conducted research on Indonesian migrant workers in Taipei, focusing on kitchen power dynamics and food experiences.
• HolopisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Holopis (a collective from Surabaya) collaborated with Bakudapan on the 'Disko Tanah' workshop and the Dapur Komunitas (Community Kitchen) program in Mendira, Jombang, East Java. Holopis focuses on ecological architecture and building with natural materials.
• MantasaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Mantasa (represented by Hayu Dyah Patriadari) partnered with Bakudapan in developing the Dapur Komunitas program in Mendira, Jombang. Mantasa works on cultivating wild food and sustainable food practices in rural Java communities.
• Komunitas Perempuan Sumber Karunia Alam (KPSKA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016KPSKA is a women's community group in Mendira, Jombang, led by Bu Saini. Bakudapan collaborated with KPSKA during its residency in Mendira, participating in food preparation, workshops, and the Dapur Komunitas program.
• KUNCI Cultural Studies CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Bakudapan is closely affiliated with KUNCI Cultural Studies Center in Yogyakarta. Several Bakudapan members (including Gatari Surya Kusuma) are also active members of KUNCI. KUNCI provides physical space for Bakudapan's activities, including land cultivation for the 'Independent Food' project. Gatari works as a researcher at KUNCI.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TANAH: Singapore-based interdisciplinary collective engaged in food and nature-themed research, dialogue, and interventions. Direct collaborator with Bakudapan on the 'Food at the End of the World' project (2018), making it the closest peer in scope, methodology, and regional focus.
• ruangrupa: Jakarta-based artist collective known internationally as curator of Documenta 15. Comparable to Bakudapan as a non-hierarchical Indonesian arts collective using collaborative, community-engaged methods — though ruangrupa operates at significantly larger scale and visibility within the global art ecosystem.
• Lifepatch: Yogyakarta-based citizen initiative in art, science, and technology. Partnered with Bakudapan as a venue host for the Food at the End of the World salon (Jan 2018); shares the practice-based, community-engaged research approach with Bakudapan and operates in overlapping Yogyakarta cultural infrastructure.
• KUNCI Cultural Studies Center: Yogyakarta-based cultural studies collective and study forum affiliated with Bakudapan through shared members (Gatari Surya Kusuma). Operates with a similar horizontal, interdisciplinary research model and provides space and infrastructure that underpins much of Bakudapan's work.
• Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API): Indonesian farmers' alliance advocating for agrarian reform and farmer rights — central concerns in Bakudapan's Mapping Food Politics and Independent Food projects. Directly comparable on thematic focus (Indonesian food sovereignty) but operates as a movement organization rather than a research collective.
• Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PANAP): Regional NGO advocating for food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, and pesticide-free farming across Asia-Pacific. Thematically aligned with Bakudapan's food sovereignty and organic food research, though operates as a formal advocacy NGO rather than a research/art collective.
• Cemeti Institute for Art and Society: Yogyakarta-based art institute that supported the Bakudapan–TANAH Food at the End of the World project (2018). Comparable as a Yogyakarta-rooted organization bridging art, research, and social engagement, with a longer institutional history than Bakudapan.

Broad incumbents

• GRAIN: International non-profit organization supporting small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Operates at global scale on themes directly addressed by Bakudapan (food sovereignty, corporate control of agriculture), but as a much larger policy/research entity.
• WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia): Indonesia's largest environmental NGO, addressing ecological dimensions including food systems and agrarian issues that intersect with Bakudapan's research themes. Much larger, formally established organization operating at national scale; comparable on thematic overlap but not on methodology or scale.
• Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA): Indonesian agrarian reform coalition addressing land rights and farmer displacement — themes directly explored in Bakudapan's Mapping Food Politics and Independent Food projects. Operates at a much larger scale nationally and represents the broader movement context in which Bakudapan's research is situated.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2d8JnVwsOhbCv2TKZPdvXA
• Facebookfacebook.com/bakudapan
• Instagraminstagram.com/bakudapan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bakudapan-food-study-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Bakudapan Food Study Group