Dayak, Kalimantan and forests are inseparable. The island of Borneo is home to a third largest tropical rainforest remaining on the planet. The people of Dayak live off the forests around them by gathering their daily needs from it, like a supermarket. They harvest fruits, plant vegetables, hunt wild game, collect wood for use in constructions and take roots or tree barks as traditional medicine.
Their elders live alongside the forest and preserve it. However, fire, logging, and use of land as plantation are slowly eroding the forest area. “The youths, particularly those who live in the city, are no longer connected to the forest. Just like me, who only returned after 20 years,” said 24 years old Sumarni.
Read full article about Sumarni published by Tempo Magazine.