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Sasak Behundang, Arai Beikan, Hutan Bejaluq
(There are shrimps under the leaves sunk on riverbeds, there are fish in the water, there are animals in the forests).
Ask the average man in the street if they can point out Borneo on the map and they may have trouble answering your question.
Ask them if they are concerned about problems such as global warming, destruction of the rain forests, poverty, religious and ethnic strife and they will probably know exactly what you are talking about! Unfortunately, Borneo is no stranger to these problems.
For centuries the indigenous Borneo Dayaks have lived in harmony with their tropical environment. Scientific studies attempting to understand the recent problems in Kalimantan are unanimous on this point.
The saying below the picture is from Dayak Jalai who lives in Ketapang District, West Kalimantan. It describes briefly their vision and dream about living in happiness and prosperity. It also represents the Dayak’s view in general. Living in harmony with nature as the basis for their living, the Dayak have developed a distinct management of natural resources.
"The most basic characteristic similar to all Dayak ethnic groups is that they are an oral community with an integral relationship with the land — a community that has a strong belief that the world and everything in it was created by the Almighty. They have strong solidarity and loyalty among themselves, and a strong sense of communalism." (2002, ‘Indonesia and Displacement’, Ford Foundation).
The Kobus foundation
For the past forty years Jacques Maessen en Piet van Hoof have been working among the local Dayak population in the Sintang region in Kalimantan Barat.
In 2006 Jacques founded The Kobus foundation to support the local Dayaks in their struggle against internal and external pressures. The frustrations which have erupted in ethnic violence several times during recent decades have not been eradicated. Illegal logging continues. The habitat of such magnificent species as the Orang-utan ('forest man') has been largely destroyed. The Dayak have become economically marginalized.
We all share the same planet. Problems confronting the Dayak population in west Borneo are your problems too. The Kobus foundation does not claim to have any simple solutions. We can however offer a forum to all parties concerned with protecting the environment in this ecologically important region.
In these web pages you can find information about a number of projects in which the Kobus foundation is involved: the 'Hutan Baning' (protected area) in Sintang (West Kalimantan), education, sustainable agriculture, Ikat cloth weaving, a museum for artefacts and culture. These and other Kobus activities are all directed toward halting what some have described as ecocidal trends.
We believe that these aims can only be achieved with the support of the local Dayak population. We believe that the first step to enlist this support is to encourage the Dayak to believe in themselves.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 April 2008 )
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