Overview

Integrating cultural heritage protection with environmental conservation and education in a remote forest community in Central Kalimantan

The Project's Goals and Objectives

To work with two remote indigenous forest communities in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, to construct a longhouse using traditional techniques and methods, with sustainable technology such as solar panels, solar heating and compost toilets. The construction becomes a study in the skills, culture and traditions of the communities, led by elders from the villages transferring their knowledge to younger generations. No chainsaws or nails will be used.

The resulting structure is a rainforest university and training centre that will be the only research station set in primary rainforest inside the Indonesian half of the Heart of Borneo, attracting experts in biological, ecological, anthropological and climate studies. These scientists, working with local people as guides and assistants, will contribute much needed data to support reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programs, monitor climatic changes and consequences, and advise policy makers on necessary actions. Working with other local and international NGOs the longhouse will be used as guide and researcher training centre, as well as a field school for student trips and expeditions.

The project promotes pride in and appreciation of traditional skills and ways of life, and keeps those skills that are on the verge of becoming lost in the coming decades alive. The resulting income diversification, and the community-led sustainability workshops that will form part of the construction, will reduce the impact the communities have on their local environment.

Interactive multimedia will be used to document and share both the construction of the longhouse and the completed project.

Progress to Date

Progress to Date

The Murung Raya Expedition was our first project in the area, combining scientific research into species biodiversity with multimedia to create an interactive experience shared by thousands around the world. The two communities, Tumbang Naan and Tumbang Tohan, were actively engaged in the expedition and highly supportive of and involved in the planning of our longer term projects there.

Participatory meetings were held with both villages to discuss the Longhouse Project which was greeted with much excitement and interest. There is a traditional longhouse in Tumbang Naan which is over a century old, and still used and well-maintained. This became the benchmark for discussions around design and construction, and the necessary materials and manpower needed.

Project ownership, staffing and maintenance were discussed, with community ownership the preferred option. Research into establishing a community-run NGO to administer the project has begun, and connections with stakeholders such as NGOs, public authorities, and private firms involved in extraction in the area have been established.

Research into the cultural and architectural history of the longhouse tradition, and its current neglect, is underway, and experts in this subject have been contacted. Connections with the local tourism office with a view to constructing a ‘sister’ longhouse in a public space in Central Kalimantan have been made. It is hoped a further ‘sister’ longhouse could be constructed in a public space in the UK, where hands on workshops could be run during the construction, at the same time as the rainforest longhouse is being built.

Next Steps

Next Steps

The next step is a fact-finding, networking and reconnaissance expedition to Central Kalimantan in September/October 2011. Visits to few remaining longhouses in the Province will be made, where interviews will be conducted with the people of those communities to build on the current knowledge of the construction methods, materials, and customary importance of the longhouses.

These visits will be documented to produce an online multimedia encyclopaedia of the longhouse tradition, and to provide a cultural background to the project. Our photographs will also be used to produce 3D virtual tours of the new longhouse, and to build interest in the project before the construction goes live.

The majority of this expedition will be spent in the villages of Tumbang Naan and Tumbang Tohan to work with both communities to develop and put in writing the details of the management plan, and to schedule the preparatory measures to be taken before the live construction which will take place in May 2012.