Accommodations II

When I first started the research on Shorea atrinervosa at the Raya-Pasi Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan (see Illipe Nut III), I would frequently spend the night in a little, run-down, almost abandoned, government hotel right on the border of the nature reserve. No electricity or hot water or towels. Three local Dayak boys as caretakers - and cooks if you brought the food. I can remember numerous nights being the only guest in this somewhat creepy hotel. And then getting up in the morning, having a cup of coffee and a bowl of Indomie with a fried egg, and then hiking up the moutain to my study site (red square). [NOTE: There was a waterfall and a place to swim right down from the hotel. Useful].

Kebun Raya

This delightful gentleman was the caretaker of the guesthouse at the Kebun Raya in Bogor (the Bogor Botanical Garden) when I visited in the early 1990's.  The guesthouse is located on the grounds of the Garden near the giant Ceiba tree with its resident population of flying foxes.

Threads of Life

Last September, Tony Cunningham and I gave a workshop to a group of weavers in Flores Barat, Indonesia on sustainable  harvesting of the plant dyes used in their textiles.  The weavers were worried that supplies of certain dye and mordant plants were running out.  They were right.  As a result of the workshop, we were able to develop a better system for producing "mengkudu" (Morinda citrifolia), an important red dye, and we located a dense population of "loba" (Symplocos spp.) in the forests of Tenda Bhera that could be managed to produce a virtually inexhaustable supply of leaves.  The leaves contain a high concentration of aluminium which acts to fix the red color.  The workshop was organized - flawlessly - by the Yayasan Pecinta Budaya Bebali (YPBB) and Threads of LIfe  (thx, Jean and William).

[NOTES: The weavers are wearing their textiles as sarongs. The t-shirts show the whole plant collection, dyeing, and weaving cycle, and say "Nature Protected, Culture Conserved, Humanity Secure". The weaver in the lower image is holding a Symplocos leaf.]