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  On January the 30^th I will be travelling to Borneo’s northern region of Sabah for a ten-week expedition. During this period I will partake in a three phases of volunteering spread across the island. The expedition will consist of three phrases; Community, Conservation and Adventure.  I have recently received details of what each stage will entail. Please click on 'read more' for a detailed description.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS:

  Education is a basic need which is taken for granted in western societies. It is well documented that individuals who fail or drop out of education at any stage are seriously disadvantaged in future life. In order to maximise life opportunities it is important for individuals to be actively involved in education as early as possible. In Malaysia the Government provides educational facilities for children aged six and above with primary and secondary schools, however young children often have to travel several hours to reach their closest primary school.

 The main difficulty with this system is that before a child can be enrolled in school at the age of six, they must be capable in basic reading and writing. For the majority this is impossible. Due to the remoteness of most tribes, the Kampungs for example, the elders have never had the need or opportunity to be academically educated. This leaves the younger generations in a severely disadvantaged position. Raleigh has worked with an organisation called PACOS for a number of years. On this project the aim is to provide a basic level of education needed so that when a child who lives in a remote area reaches six years old they are able to start schooling, and not find themselves years behind their peers.

   The Tongod region of Sabah is approximately four to five hours drive from the main city of Kota Kinabula. The communities are predominantly of Sungai Makong origin, living in traditionally built housing of bamboo and leafed roofing. Some houses are incredibly cramped with several families occupying a single property. Subsistence farming is practiced with hill rice grown on a rotational basis on nearby land. A secondary source of income comes from a small amount of rubber tapping. The Kampongs have become increasingly isolated in the past few years due to the deterioration of the main track to this area. There are very few community facilities available and the area has been earmarked for assistance from various NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organisations) to improve the standard of living. PACOS is a long-standing partner of Raleigh and will be working together to ensure the Kindergarten project is maintained and staffed for the future.

 Aswell as a lack of education, many remote communities within Malaysia still do not have access to clean drinkable water. Although great steps have been taken to overcome this problem there still remains a large number lacking this basic need. Villages without a water source collect water in a large trunk or barrel from rainfall. However, the rainfall in most community areas is often insufficient to meet their needs all year round so water is reluctantly taken and consumed from polluted rivers. This obviously has great effects on the community’s health both in the short and long term, the spreading diseases such as typhoid is widespread. The provision of a gravity water feed system is a simple and often inexpensive solution to getting fresh water into a community.

  Once a suitable water source has been located for a village (which can be several kilometers away), the source is damned using wire cages and filled with rocks and/or cement. Piping is then laid to several reservoir tanks which enables a head of pressure to be established to cope with periods of high demand. From these tanks, piping is laid into the area; this will usually involved digging the pipe into shallow trenches to avoid being damaged. Finally connectors and taps are installed as the system is established within the community to provide the most efficient supply. During the whole process the local community will assist with the work and are educated on how to maintain their system to ensure it is a sustainable solution to their water requirements.

ENVIRONMENT PROJECTS

Sepilok – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

  The newest conservation initiative in Borneo is the development of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok (located on the eastern side of Sabah, a 7 hour drive from Kota Kinabulu). The Sun bear is the smallest of the nine bear species in the world with an average weight of 150 pounds (70 kilograms), usually reaching a length 1.5 meters in a fully grown adult (males are slightly larger than females). This stature suits their living an insular life in the dense lowland forests of South-east Asia. Its small frame allows easy navigation between trees. Sun bears are named so due to the white/orange crescent emblazoned on their chests, local folklore declares that this represents the rising sun. They have a stocky, muscular build and a short muzzle. Their sleek black hair is short to avoid over-heating in the tropical weather but is thick and coarse to provide protection from twigs, branches and rain. Ironically, Sun Bears are nocturnal. At night the omnivorous Sun Bear’s feed on fruit, berries, roots, insects, small birds, lizards and rodents. They have an excellent sense of smell and have extremely large claws (measuring on average 10cm) these are used to rip open trees and termite nests. Their tongues are comically long, making it an effective tool for licking honey from bees’ nests.

   

    Little is know of the social lives of these bears, there is some evidence to suggest they are monogamous. Sows make ground nests and give birth to only one or two blind babies which weigh approximately 11 ounces (325 grams). Mothers have been observed cradling a cub in their arms whilst walking on their hind legs, a rare trait among bears. Cubs can move around after two months but remain with their mother for two years or more.

   Due to the Sun Bears remote habitat and shy personality, there is currently not enough data to determine if Sun Bears are in danger of extinction, but scientists fear the worst. Their homeland is being lost rapidly because of deforestation and poachers hunting them mercilessly for body parts and fur. Some farmers shoot them on sight on account of eating crops due to their foraging curious nature. A more distressing fact is that sow are killed immediately after giving birth in order to raise cubs as pets.

    The new conservation centre was concieved by leading researcher Wong Siew Ti. The idea is very similar to the successful neighboring sanctuary for Orang-utans. The centre aims to raise awareness of the plight of the Sun bear. It will allow for the rehabilitation of Sun Bears that have been kept in captivity or orphaned and those that cannot be released back into the wild will have the best life possible. Eventually, the creation of visitor programme will enable the sanctuary to become self-funding with any profits used solely for further research of the species. Raleigh groups will be supporting the project by helping with the construction of parts of the conservation centre, mainly fencing, enclosures and boardwalks. The project will be overseen by LEAP whom is working very closely with the two government bodies, The Department of Forestry and The Department of Wildlife.

IMBAK CANYON – Trail & Infrastructure Development

    The Imbak Canyon is the last remaining untouched and relatively unexplored area of Sabah. Less that 200 people have entered this virgin primary jungle where very recently a new tree species was discovered. The region is home to a superfluity of wildlife including elephants, orang-utans and 100’s of rare bird species. Yayasan Sabah (the concessionary) now wants to reserve this area as a natural gene bank to help protect future biodiversity of the whole region and has asked Raleigh to play a major role in the development of this area.

  In early 2004, a Raleigh project team worked closely with the staff of Yayasan Sabah to plan the location and type of necessary infrastructure needed to protect and allow access to the pristine protected area of Imbak Canyon. The first included mapping the area to determine points of interest, possible trail networks, sources of water and best locations for a field centre. The second expedition to Imbak in late 2004 started putting into place basic infrastructure including a Ranger’s camp, visitors’ accommodation and basic trails. This was the first permanent structure built as part of the master development plan for this conservation area.

    Between 2005 and 2008 the infrastructure has been gradually expanded by a number of Raleigh teams. In addition new trails have been recce’d along the ridges and into the centre of the canyon by groups during expedition in late 2005. Raleigh has recently completed a 200ft span bridge crossing a tributary of the Imbak Canyon close to the main camp used by visitors, BBC Camp. In the dry season this river can easily be crossed by foot, however in the rainy season the river often becomes swollen, cutting off access to the conservation area. There are still many years of work needed on this location. The expedition I will be partaking in will concern itself with the preparation and construction of a second suspension bridge across the larger Imbak River.

MORF – Reforestation Project, Kampung Bowang Jamal, Kudat District.

   MORF is a new conservation programme designed to actively pursue re-forestation though collection, cultivation and replanting of forest trees in order to reclaim barren areas. The initial objective is to establish a ‘field base’ and ‘rainforest nursery’ to supply indigenous tree species to land obtained through donation, purchase on behalf of the organization or any other means possible. The project is only just starting and will benefit hugely from having Raleigh teams involved. During the project, Raleigh plans to build an accommodation area for future volunteers to work on the project, create a nursery to provide trees for replanting on land obtained by MORF, and to collect saplings from the local area.

    This project is located approximately four hours drive away from Kota Kinabalu and is quite close to an active community, which is only a short walk away from a secluded beach paradise.

ADVENTURE STAGE/PROJECTS

Trekking and Diving

    The long trekking element of the expedition will snake around the western corner of Sabah on the Kalimantan and Sarawak border starting the small village of long Pasia. The trek will last 10-11 days with all teams carrying their own supplies and equipment for the full duration. Long Pasia is a very remote area and is steeped in tradition and folklore. The surrounding jungle has been under threat for many years from the logging industry and the community has suffered from a gradual decline in numbers as young people move away from the area. In order to halt this decline and re-establish the community as well as protecting the surrounding environment, the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) has worked closely with the community to develop an eco-tourism plan. The plan has been running for several years but is starting to decline as new areas open up in Sabah. The area is one of the richest plant diversity sites in Borneo in particular for orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher plants. In addition the people of the area have an interesting history as fierce headhunters. It is this ancient legend that has been passed down through generations to make this a fascinating place in the thick and untouched jungle.

Tungku Abdul Rahman Marine Park

   At the end of the adventure phase, venturers will spend three to four days doing their PADI Open Water Diving qualification in the Tungku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Following successful qualification, an underwater clean up operation of the marine park and its reef will be conducted.

 

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