Bringing JOY to the highlands

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/01/06/bringing-joy-to-the-highlands/

by Chang Yi. Posted on January 6, 2013, Sunday

JOANNA Joy is not only the MAS agent in Bario but also the owner of a large Bario pineapple garden and a homestay business.

PINEAPPLES FOR LUNCH: Kelabit friends bringing Bario pineapples for the afternoon meal prepared at the homestay. All dishes are individually cooked for each group.

A mother of two young adults who have been educated in Kuala Lumpur — one already working and the other completing his studies — she has, in response to the call of familial duty, returned to the Bario Highlands to look after her aged mother and adopted parents.

When she was a little girl, her parents allowed their relative to adopt her. So, she has two sets of parents like many of the indigenous people of Sarawak.

Joanna who had her early education in Bario, studied in Institut Teknologi Mara after completing secondary school. Upon graduation, she worked and got married and then found a job outside Bario – the usual story of young Kelabits. However, the highlands had been beckoning to her.

Her children are now fairly independent and chasing their own dreams. Her daughter has graduated with an MA in biotechnology from University Malaya and her son is studying to become an IT programmer from ITM.

The conditions were, thus, right for her to return and contribute to her hometown in the state’s scenic highlands.

Besides looking after her aging mother and adoptive parents, Joanna has put her time to good use by helping her people wherever she can. Presently, she is also holding down two jobs — as operational manager of Bario Airport and MAS agent.

She said she is not going to retire yet because she still has many dreams to fulfill. A few years ago, she started a pineapple farm on a piece of land near the airport. And not long ago, she opened a homestay business.

When friends from West Malaysia and overseas visit her, she is happy to show them her pineapple farm. She planted the young suckers with the help of her relatives, and is now harvesting as many as 10 to 15 fruits a day — sometimes more. Any surplus will be made into jam.

Challenging problems

However, Joanna has problems using her food processor to make jam. When the Bario dam is low, there is virtually no electricity for the community. And since power supply is dependent on the water level in the dam, it is not everyday that she can use her food processor to make jam. Fortunately, there is a generator at the secondary school in the area which she can rely on when the need arises.

HOME-MADE: Joanna’s home-made pineapple jam.

Joanna also faces a serious problem in her pineapple business. Sending the fruits by air to Miri is very expensive. She sells her pineapples at RM2 per kilo to passengers and relatives.

Malaysian Airlines allows free luggage of 10kg. Passengers are weighed before checking in with their hand luggage. Each pineapple easily weighs up to 3 kilos. If someone buys a box of pineapples, he or she may have to pay an extra RM30 surcharge because of excess baggage.

Relatives bringing a pineapple or two for their family or friends would usually wait for a friendly passenger to help hand-carry the fruits for them to Miri. That’s the way of the people in the highlands – always ready to help each other.

Besides pineapples, Joanna’s family also plant rice. If she cannot farm the land herself, she will ask other padi planters for help — perhaps on a sharecropping basis.

In the past, her parents had no problem planting enough rice to feed the whole family for a period of two years. Will she allow her land to lay fallow for the next few years?

In fact, Joanna is having to face many issues related to growing rice and pineapples in the highlands. Can she get a grant to start a pineapple jam cottage industry? She has been sourcing for help from friends and government agents but to no avail so far.

She sells her home-made jam at counters that are open to her but she has to remember not to over-produce because her refrigerator cannot operate 24 hours a day due to limited electricity supply in Bario.

Moreover, many of the better educated younger women who bemoan the lack of basic utilities – adequate electricity supply, for example – in the area have left to find work elsewhere.

Airport Homestay

WITH VISITORS: Joanna (right) and her visitors in front of her homestay.

Homestay business in Bario is irregular. Things usually pick up only during festive celebrations.

However, for holiday-makers – both local and foreign – homestay accommodation and related facilities are available in Bario as well as nearby villages which offer attractions like kayaking and salt mines.

One popular setup is Joanna’s Bario Airport Homestay which offers good food. The chef frequently comes up with “very refreshing dishes.” Fresh talipia from Joanna’s pond next to the homestay is available everyday!

Dessert consists of a huge plate of freshly-plucked pineapples, and vegetables bought from the surrounding homesteads although green-thumbed Joanna grows most of her own vegetables.

Joanna Joy is a shinning example of an enterprising Kelabit woman who meets her challenges with plenty of cheers. If the challenges she is facing can be overcome, many younger highlanders would probably stay back to work and help boost the local economy.

With plantation roads linking Bario to Marudi, the future looks good for those Kelabits hoping to return home after their retirement — and even for the younger ones after their education outside the highlands.

According to a young government officer in Marudi, there might be more jobs in Bario in the future as more businesses can be opened up. With so many possibilities, the rural-urban migration which has been affecting many Bario families, could see a reversal.

Learning from the Penans in Mulu

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/7/sarawak/12424502&sec=sarawak

By Constance Vanessa Victor

Friday December 7, 2012

Off we go: The participating communities all set to embark on their journey to Long Iman, Mulu.

 

KUCHING: A “Traditional Knowledge (TK) Documentation Workshop 2012” was held recently in a Penan village at Long Iman, Mulu, 45 minutes by boat up the Tutoh River (towards the Melinau River), just outside the boundary of Gunung Mulu National Park.

One of the reasons the 31-door settlement was chosen was the villagers’ vast knowledge of the forest and its rich resources.

Organised by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), the workshop targets the state’s indigenous communities that have participated in the centre’s documentation programme.

Held annually, the workshop functions as a platform where participating communities come together and report on the progress of the project within their respective communities.

The workshop is also aimed at reinforcing the awareness of the community’s representatives of the importance of conserving their traditional knowledge and biological resources, and emphasising the communities’ capacity in documenting their traditional knowledge of useful plants.

This year, an additional component was added to the workshop – the communities were also introduced to how they can identify components in developing homestay programme incorporating conservation of their traditional knowledge.

Taking note: The participating communities preparing for their group presentation.

 

An officer from the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage, Joachim Paggang Jabong, introduced the basics of establishing a village homestay programme, while Jeffrey Simun from Mulu National Park spoke on ecotourism and cultural activities that could be incorporated into such programmes.

The community representatives also heard from an operator of a successful community homestay programme, Dawson Ringin, of Kampung Annah Rais near Kuching.

The 36 participating communities came from all over the state - Kampung Semadang (Padawan), Kampung Kiding (Penrissen), Kampung Duyoh Jagoi (Bau), Rumah Changgai (Sg. Tekalit Song), Rumah Joseph Melayu (Balingian), Rumah Skatap (Betong), Long Iman (Mulu), Batu Bungan (Mulu), Palungan (Bario), Pa’ukat (Bario), Long Pelutan (Julau), Ba’Kelalan (Bario), Long Kerabangan (Lawas), Long Telingan (Lawas), Kampung Jebungan (Mukah), Kampung Jemoreng (Matu), Long Ikang (Marudi), Rumah Ajan (Merapok), and Kampung Sual (Simunjan).

The participants were of various ethnic groups such as Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu and Penan.

Deputy Undersecretary for Biodiversity and Forest Management in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, K Nagulendran, officiated at the opening of the workshop.

For Nagulendran, the function would hold special memories as it was the first time that he participated in the workshop in Sarawak.

In his opening address, he stated that the workshop was crucial as it allowed communities to be fully involved in activities and share their experiences with other participants.

Interactive: Mr K. Nagulendran (third from the right) and the participants carrying out the activities during the Traditional Knowledge Documentation Workshop 2012

 

He also commended SBC for organising the workshop in a participating village as it enabled the different communities to carry out hands-on activities and also exposed them to the importance of documenting useful plants.

Carrying out such a workshop within a community also enabled the participation of the younger generation.

He called for similar workshops to be held in other participating villages as well.

Throughout the three-day workshop, the participants were exposed to the components of documenting useful traditional plants found at Long Iman.

They were also tasked to identify elements needed to establish a homestay programme that incorporates traditional knowledge.

Most of the participants found the workshop informative and beneficial.

A first-timer in the workshop, Ketua Kampung Ajan Renang from the Iban community of Rumah Ajan in Lawas, found the workshop an eye-opener and felt that similar workshops should be conducted yearly.

According to Ajan, he had learned a lot from the workshop as he was able to share useful experiences on documenting traditional knowledge with the other participants.

“I will encourage the younger generation in my community to participate in the programme which is facilitated by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre”, he said.

Meanwhile, Denny Sebom from Rumah Joseph Melayu at Sungai Chenanun Tepus in Balingian observed that traditional knowledge had always been handed down verbally and through observations of practices.

He agreed that proper documentation is vital in order to preserve such knowledge which is very much an integral part of a community’s heritage, other than potentially holding leads to new discoveries in pharmaceutical development and other uses.

Like Ajan, Denny felt that the younger generation should play an active role and pledged to encourage teenagers in his village to come on board the programme, particularly during school holidays.

Raymond Lejau from Long Iman reported that his community had been actively participating in collecting, documenting and propagating plants that they use for food, materials and medicine, since they were introduced to the programme in 2003.

The Long Iman community has established an Interpretative Centre and a garden of useful plants. The documentation committee collects a minimal entrance fee of RM5 per person from tourists who wish to visit the garden. A part of the collection is used to maintain the garden, while the rest is put aside as emergency fund.

The garden also serves the community as an educational centre for their younger generation and acts as their “green pharmacy”.

The green pharmacy cuts down on the time needed to locate and gather plants from the forest when needed. This effort also helps the community to conserve these plants.

According to Raymond, “it is still a long process for the community to document the useful plants as there are still many more plants that were traditionally used by the Penans in the forest of Long Iman”.

Since the inception of the documentation programme in 2001, there are now 13 indigenous communities in 58 locations throughout the state involved in documenting their traditional knowledge.

Those who wish to know more about the programme can call Sarawak Biodiversity Centre on 082-610 610 or send email to biosar@sbc.org.my. — Article contributed by Sarawak Biodiversity Centre

 

 

Natives threaten army with court injunction

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/12/07/natives-threaten-army-with-court-injunction/

Joseph Tawie | December 7, 2012 

KUCHING: Angry villagers in Ba’Kelalan have threatened the Malaysian Royal Army Engineers Regiment with a court injunction if they persist in building the Ba’kelalan-Bario road.

 The construction of the RM40 million road connecting Ba Kelalan to Bario in Sarawak, at the cost of an essential water catchment area has angered local villagers.

“If need be, we will apply for a court injunction to stop the army contractors from proceeding with the road construction,” said Baru Bian, a lawyer and Ba’Kelalan assemblyman.

Bian said that he had written to the chief of the Armed Forces that the villagers did not want the road (Ba’Kelalan-Bario road) as it passes Sungai Muda, which is a water catchment area.

The villagers have instead proposed that road be built from Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario. This would then safeguard the catchment area.

“The villagers have objected to the road being built through Sungai Muda as it would affect the water catchment area at Sungai Muda,” he said.

Bian, who is Sarawak PKR chief, said he was disappointed with army’s reply that only a few people were against the road construction while the majority of the villagers were for it.

“The folks in Ba Kelalan wants to protect Sungai Muda because its destruction would affect the lives of about 2,000 villagers from Punan Kelalan, Long Muda, Long Kumap, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Buduk Nur, and SK Ba’Kelalan, an international award winning school,” he said.

In the letter, the army also said that the few people who rejected the road were the supporters of the Bian and that it reflected a very bad image.

“I have submitted a list of 152 villagers who are against the construction, and I will be calling for a big meeting in Ba’Kelalan on Dec 16, 2012,” said Bian.

“If the army still persists in carrying out the construction, we will apply for an injunction. It is  typical  of the BN mentality to blame the problem on the opposition.”

What about NCR rights?

On the reason given by the army that it is a ‘security road’ having its strategic importance to the forward operation base along the border to Lapo Bunga Cam, Bian said that it appeared that the army refused to listen to the people.

“Are they are serving the people or are they serving their own interest?” he asked.
He also questioned whether the road was properly planned as there was no EIA report and did not appear to involve the state authorities.

“And what about the native customary rights land of the people? Have they been excised out? My suspicion is that the project is improperly done and I urge the army to listen to the people,” he said.
Last month the villagers set up a blockade at Pa’Patar and Arur Lutut which is near the water catchment area called Sungai Muda.

The villagers claimed that contractors had already cleared about a kilometre stretch of the jungle despite their disagreement to have the road built through Sungai Muda.

The villagers told reporters last month that the army had explained to them that they opted for the Sungai Muda route because it is 20km shorter than the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route, and thus would incur less cost.

The villagers, however, did not buy that story because the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route is already there and merely needed small improvements, such as culverts.

The construction of the RM42 million Ba Kelalan-Bario Road started on Oct 1 and is expected to be completed by Sept 2014.

Defence minister Ahmad Zaidi Hamidi said army would implement the project under the Blue Ocean Strategy, and the road was a continuation of the 75km Long Luping-Ba Kelalan Road which was completed in September last year.

Tribal Scoops: Traditional Kelabit offering

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2012/11/15/tribal-scoops-traditional-kelabit-offering/

Dave Avran | November 15, 2012 

 

We found the staff to be friendly and attentive while the food was awesome. This restaurant is definitely on the shortlist for the frigglive annual awards.

FOOD REVIEW

 

Sarawak in general is chock full of intriguing and great ethnic cuisine experiences and Kuching’s Tribal Scoops is a gem of a find introduced to us by Kuching socialite Gracie Geikie.

Nestled just next to Tune Hotel at the Taman Sri Sarawak complex and facing the Kuching Hilton, it celebrates the unique food, farming, forest and cultural heritage of the Bario Highlands – one of the last surviving intact traditionally farmed and forested highland watersheds in Sarawak and East Malaysia.

In order to fully appreciate the Tribal Scoops dining experience, a little history and geography lesson is in order. Bario is a village located in the centre of the Kelabit Highlands in the north east of Sarawak, very close to the international border with Indonesian Kalimantan, and 3280 feet above sea level. It is the main settlement in the Kelabit Highlands.

The Kelabit, at approximately 6,000 people, is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Sarawak. Like many other indigenous communities in Sarawak, the Kelabit live in longhouses in the Bario Highlands. It is estimated that only 1,200 Kelabit are still living in the highlands.

The community’s main economic activity is agriculture, mainly growing Bario rice. The cool climate at an average 20℃ enables the residents to cultivate citrus fruits besides rice. Bario is also famous for its high-potash salt and the refreshing, juicy Bario pineapple.



A chat with Tribal Scoops’s owner, Esther Balan-Gala, revealed that as she was unable to find readily available traditional Kelabit food anywhere in the city, she decided to open Tribal Scoops Restaurant to cater to that craving.

Her aim is to promote authentic ethnic food which is healthy and organic yet affordable, while also promoting Sarawak’s rich cultural heritage through the unique and authentic products being sold in her outlet, including Kek Lapis, ethnic headbands, Bario Highland salt and cinnamon, ethnic artworks and crafts, CDs of ethnic Sarawak music and recipe books.

This charitable lady reveals her soft side by allotting space on the walls to showcase artworks by talented but handicapped local artists, and never fails to encourage her customers to support them.

With that rather long introduction, let’s get down to the business of food. We opted for the buffet line instead of Ala Carte, and came face to face with Nubaq Layag which is mashed rice, either red or white, wrapped in a fragrant Isip leaf.

Before we could inquire, Esther explained that in the old days when people went to the farm, they didn’t have plates. So they used leaves for plates and even scoops for soup. We also use bamboo to bake fish and meats, and use them as serving dishes, cups and spoons, she said.



Next up, the Manuk Pansuh which is chicken cooked in bamboo had the wafting aromas of ginger, tapioca leaves and lemongrass, and was seasoned with organic Bario Highland Salt and had the distinct flavor of bamboo. This dish is also known as Pansoh locally.

More tapioca leaves were to be found in the savory Udung Ubih, which was stir- fried with tangy lemongrass.

Tribal Scoops boasts many other ethnic cuisines which are a must-try, such as A’beng (deboned fish), Pa’uh Ab’pa (jungle fern) fish cooked with Dayak brinjal, cucumber and black fungus soup, Labo Senutuq (shredded beef/serunding style beef), stir-fried bamboo shoots, bunga kantan salad and many more delicious dishes all cooked using organic ingredients and flavored with local herbs and spices as well as the mineral-rich Highland organic salt.

Esther stressed that they don’t use MSG in their cooking, their greens are all organic, and that all meat and fish at Tribal Scoops are obtained from Halal suppliers. No pork or lard is used in their cooking.



We found the staff to be friendly and attentive while the food was awesome. This restaurant is definitely on the shortlist for the frigglive annual awards.

Tribal Scoops offers free Wifi, and caters for private functions and events. They can also arrange for activities like rice wrapping demonstrations where participants will learn to wrap their own rice.

Tribal Scoops Restaurant and Snack Bar is located at No.10, 1st Floor, Block H, Jalan Borneo, Taman Sri Sarawak. Tel: 082-234873.

You can also find more at their website. Or their Facebook.

[photo credit: Veronica Ng]

Villagers set up blockades to halt Ba Kelalan-Bario Road project

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/12/villagers-set-up-blockades-to-halt-ba-kelalan-bario-road-project/#ixzz2BzoqQHYp

Posted on November 12, 2012, Monday

BLOCKADE: Ba’ Kelalan folks set up a blockade near Sungai Muda.

BA KELALAN: Cheesed off for being kept in the dark by the government and their elected representatives, about 20 villagers in Ba Kelalan set up blockades last Thursday to thwart construction of the Ba Kelalan-Bario Road before it destroys their water catchment area.

The blockade was erected at Pa’ Patar and Arur Lutut, which is near the water catchment area called Sungai Muda.

Villager Paren Padan claimed that the contractors had already cleared about a kilometre stretch of the jungle despite the villagers’ strong disagreement to have the road built through Sungai Muda.

“During a meeting which was held when Lawas MP Dato Henry (Sum Agong) came here, we agreed that the road be built through Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario because it would not affect our water catchment area in Sungai Muda.

“However, since then we have not received any more information or official word from the government, Henry nor Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian,” he claimed.

Paren added that his people sincerely hoped that the government would build the road through Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario, and urged their elected representatives to keep them updated on the latest happenings.

Construction of the RM42 million Ba Kelalan-Bario Road started on Oct 1 and is expected to be completed by Sept 2014.

According to a Bernama report in September, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaidi Hamidi said heavy machinery from the Royal Army Engineers Regiment were already in Ba Kelalan to implement the project.

Ahmad Zaidi was quoted as saying that the project came under the Blue Ocean Strategy, and was a continuation of the 75km Long Luping-Ba Kelalan Road which was completed in September last year. That project, like the Ba  Kelalan-Bario Road project, is also a Jiwa Murni project.

The folks in Ba Kelalan are all out to protect Sungai Muda because its destruction would affect the lives of about 2,000 villagers from Punan Kelalan, Long Muda, Long Kumap, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Buduk Nur and SK Bakelalan – an international award winning school.

Villagers told reporters last month that the Royal Army Engineers Regiment had explained to them that they opted for the Sungai Muda route because it is 20km shorter than the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route, and thus would incur less cost.

The villagers, however, did not buy that story because the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route already exist and merely needed small improvements, such as culverts.

Heart of Borneo forests a prized heritage – Kurup

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/08/heart-of-borneo-forests-a-prized-heritage-kurup/

Posted on November 8, 2012, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: The conservation of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) forests is a matter of major local, national, regional and international concern because of the diversity of their unique array of plants and animals.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia Minister Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Kurup said at the closing ceremony of the International Conference on Heart of Borneo +5 and Beyond: “Shaping and nurturing Sabah’s future together” at Sutera Harbour Resort near here yesterday that the forests at HoB were also of critical value to the people and countries of Borneo as prized natural heritage and for the goods and services that they provide.

“Hence, the HoB areas must be effectively managed on the basis of sustainable land use planning and implementation with regard to the balance of ecosystem, socio-cultural, economic and political aspects within the respective nations,” he said.

Kurup said the country recognised the importance of HoB initiative, which was in harmony with existing policies, plans and programmes pertaining to sustainable development, land use and conservation, both at state and national levels.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia views HoB as a significant initiative that will directly contribute towards the betterment in forest management and conservation,” he said.
He also assured of the federal government’s support.

“Malaysia reiterates the importance that this initiative be continued to be placed within the government’s sustainable development framework and policy,” he said.

Kurup said the HoB initiative is a conservation and sustainable development programme aimed at conserving and managing three countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

He added that during the signing of the HoB Declaration almost five years ago, the three governments had recognised and committed to a set of measures and actions to ensure the sustainability of our efforts in managing and conserving a large tract of area that cradled the three countries, and which signified a practical and real effort by the HoB countries for the benefit of the future.

‘Include social component in EIA study’

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/27/include-social-component-in-eia-study/

Posted on October 27, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study on the Ba Kelalan-Bario road project should include a social component to document and identify cultural and historical sites.

Former Ba Kelalan assemblyman Datuk Nelson Balang Rining said the area surrounding the project was a former settlement of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit communities.

“Features like Batu Sinuped Perupun, Batu Nangan, Batu Barut, Beliau and Abang are found in the area apart from burial sites and old ruins of long houses. There is a request for the relevant agency to couduct such study,” he said when contacted yesterday.

On Oct 23, Balang who is also Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party secretary-general also responded to complaints of locals that the road project would affect the water sources of six villages and a primary school in the area.

The locals said destruction of the water catchment area at Sungai Muda would contaminate their drinking water, and water used for their paddy fields and livestock.

Balang pointed out then that the EIA study must be done as soon as possible and before the government proceed with the construction work. The EIA study should be conducted to make sure the area was not adversely affected.

Construction of the RM42 million Ba Kelalan-Bario road started on Oct 1 and is expected to be completed by September 2014.

The Royal Army Engineers Regiment is already in Ba Kelalan to carry out the project under the Blue Ocean Strategy – an extension of the army’s Jiwa Murni programme. About 2,000 villagers from Punan Kelalan, Long Muda, Long Kumap, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Buduk Nur and an international award-winning school SK Ba kelalan will be affected by the project.

Current assemblyman Baru Bian claimed that the EIA study had not been conducted yet, so called on the government to listen to the needs of Ba Kelalan folks.

He added that since there was no extinguishment of NCR land status in the area, the (road) route did not have to be fixed and could be modified according to the people’s wish.

Baru who is State Parti Keadilan Rakyat chief, said they were not against development but want the road to benefit the people, not the contractors.

He went on to say that the villagers did not even mind sub-standard roads as long as one of their main water catchment areas in Sungai Muda was not destroyed.

“We have sub-standard roads from Lawas to Ba Kelalan but we don’t mind as long there’s a road. I want to make it clear that the people do not want their water catchment area and jungle destroyed because it is the source of their livelihood,” Baru said.