As you may or may not know, after my adventures on Java and Sumatra I was invited to come to Borneo. In cooperation with Orangutan Foundation UK and The Cube Museum, I headed over to the densest parts of Tanjung Puting National Park. Below you can find one of my blogs from this trip.
Because of the lack of signal in Borneo, we’ve had a bit of a radio silence. But Jaime and I are back in Jakarta now and can proudly say that the centre is finished, open, and has had its first visitors! So let’s start from the beginning…
We were surprised to find that there was a large group of people already waiting for us. National Park staff, OFI staff, and OFUK staff were waiting to welcome us. We unloaded all our equipment and bags and sat down with Pak Teguh to discuss the plans for the building and discuss what we needed further. It was then decided we’d go back to the city of Kumai the next day to get extra wood and paint, as we would need a lot.
Part of the team, including Muhyar, Cobe, Yadi, and Isap.
But before we could do anything else, there was something that needed to be done: see orangutans! We joined the afternoon crowd of tourists as they headed to the feeding platform, where (ex-captive) orangutans are given supplements of food. If the forest is plentiful, orangutans most likely will not show. But we were lucky: two females, two babies, and three males made an appearance. We watched how they crashed through the trees and enjoyed the spectacle before heading back for dinner and an early night’s sleep.
The next morning we started fresh and early by waking up at 5.30am. We had amazing breakfast cooked by Ibu Muhiba and got started – banners were unrolled, wallpaper was laid out, and we started to prepare everything. After a quick trip to Kumai, we drove the speedboat back to camp and the real building could begin!
Over the next few days, we sawed, dusted, sandpapered, hammered, glued, painted, and worked until we were covered in stains and sawdust. Each day we’d start at 6.30am and continue until 5pm. It was gruelling – the heat could at times be almost unbearable and we had to keep stamina up. Ibu’s cups of coffee and midday snacks were always received with grateful smiles. But we were so, so lucky: Jaime and I had expected to do the work all by ourselves, with help from maybe one or two OFUK staff. But instead we had a team of seven to ten people each day, with expertise on DIY and bravery to climb ladders higher than I’d ever seen. Without this team, we would never have finished on time.
In the evenings, Yadi and Isap would take us into the forest for a night trek, to try and find nocturnal critters. With a severe aversion to scorpions, I was not happy to learn that they were hiding underneath practically every tree. We saw animals ranging from tarantulas, to snakes, to moths and stick insects. It was a completely different side to the forest we had seen during the day.
And then Friday came. A day before our anticipated planning, every inch of the centre was finished. The fittings were in their places, pictures were up, the mural was done, and nothing rested but wait for Pak Ade and the National Park staff to arrive and give their blessings. Pleasantries were exchanged, and a few hours later the first visitors had passed through the centre and exclaimed how much they enjoyed the experience. Our work here was done.
So all in all, this is what we’ve been up to. A very special thanks have to go to the following people in Tanjung Harapan, without whom it would not only have been impossible to make the centre, but also very boring indeed.
- Pak Teguh (for his wisdom on carpentry)
- Pak Jakir (for his photograpgy and guidance)
- Pak Arie (for his knowledge and good conversation)
- Pak Cobe (for being the oldest and hardest-working member of the team, and his love of sweeping)
- Pak Muhyar (for literally never, ever, stopping)
- Pak Yadi (for providing endless entertainment, orang gila)
- Pak Isap (for being fearless on the ladder)
- Pak Adrianus (for speaking bits of Spanish at random times)
- Pak Ijai (for helping out wherever possible)
- Pak Irus (for his incredible spirit)
- Pak Ade (for his help and cooperation on the project)
- Ibu Muhiba (for cooking for us every single day and saving my clothes)
- Ibu Warna (for helping wherever she could with a smile on her face)
Faye Vogely 