Trip to Borneo

Whilst spending 24 hours on my own in the jungle, with a fire striker and machete for survival, is when I jokingly started referring to myself as “The Wild Man of Borneo”!

I have recently returned from my latest trip, to the wilderness of Borneo where I spent three weeks living with a man named ‘Parry’ who is a member of a semi nomadic tribe, known as “The Penan”. From Parry, I learned a great deal regarding their basic survival skills. Through these skills I learnt how to survive with the available resources in the harsh and unforgiving environment of the rainforest, and put these survival techniques to the test for 24 hours, all alone.

Parry’s entire life is the jungle. All the resources, materials, medicines and foods that are available there are for him to use for his house. The way Parry uses the environment is about sustainable living and he takes what he needs. He goes fishing, puts his fishing net out for half an hour and comes back with enough for him, as well as for me.

The time spent on my own and with Parry was a spiritual journey in the Borneo jungle. It was also a steep learning curve in the difference between basic survival in a rainforest and the kind of consumerism one would see living in the UK.

I learnt about the perils that are posed by deforestation for tribal people living in the rainforest and how demands from logging companies are depleting landscapes making it unliveable for people who rely solely on the land. Everyone knows about deforestation that is going on in the world, but I have never heard what it is like from a local’s perspective and what the impact is on their lives. It was incredibly moving seeing an elder from the Penan welling up with sadness.

The main thing I learnt from all this, is ‘sustainability’. That’s how people in Penan live every day. They do not over-hunt their land or fish heavily in their rivers. They are completely in tune with the environment to make sure they aren’t disrupting their eco-system. Yet, at present one of the biggest challenges that they are facing is the impact of logging; their land is gradually disappearing thereby changing their way of living.

From my experiences, I decided to launch workshops for schools where I will be focusing on the knowledge I gained whilst living with the Penan in Borneo. I not only want to raise awareness regarding the impact their lives have on remote communities, but also take students for days out in order to teach them survival skills which they would require in the wild. I want kids to work together as a team and learn how successful you can be when you share their goals. Of course, you may have some children who are academic and some who aren’t, but when it comes to outdoors it is a whole new set of skills that everyone can excel at.

You can watch a video about my Borneo adventure here: View Video