We run several environmental education and capacity-building projects with local communities living near the last remaining orangutan habitat.
The OranguVans
The OranguVans are mobile environmental libraries and conservation film units. The vehicles travel around North Sumatra and Aceh, visiting local communities and schools. We provide free access to books, hold discussions and debates, show environmental films and give presentations on orangutans and the importance of conserving their habitat.
The OranguVan programme provides grassroots environme
ntal education and outreach services to local communities living in orangutan habitat areas. We educate them about a range of environmental issues, including conservation of orangutans and their habitat.
The OranguVans are also used in dedicated issue-based roadshows in conjunction with the Great Ape Film Initiative (GAFI). Our mobile conservation cinema screens films produced in local language to raise awareness about issues such as illegal logging, the pet trade, and the dangers of disturbing the rainforest ecosystem.
Sumatran Orangutan Education and Awareness Programme (SOEAP)
We promote practical conservation and provide environmental education for schools around North Sumatra and Aceh. During school visits we talk to children and teachers about the plight of the orangutan and the current status of Sumatra's forests. We show environmental films in the local language, hold discussions, and offer training in activities such as paper recycling and composting. We are frequently requested to set up a tree nursery in the school grounds so that the children can replant the degraded forests around their villages.
The SOS-OIC has established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Education in the Deli Serdang region of North Sumatra to pioneer conservation lessons for all state schools in the region. Curriculum guidelines have been endorsed by the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment.
A popular element of the SOEAP is the Conservation Camp. This inspires school children to become actively involved in learning about and caring for their environment. During the camp students are given talks on conservation issues. They are also given training in practical aspects of conservation such as paper recycling, composting, and ecological surveying techniques. Students are not offered this kind of training at their schools or universities. The camp also gives teachers the chance to receive training in communicating environmental messages so that the next generation will see the value in protecting their environment.
Scholarship Programme
A scholarship scheme has now been running for three years in conjunction with the American NGO Orangutan Republik Education Initiative (OUREI) to support much-needed study into orangutan ecology and conservation in Sumatra for Indonesian university students. These students can be expected to become key members of the conservation movement in North Sumatra, and can help inspire others to care for nature and their environment.
Coming soon: Profiles of students awarded the scholarship
Orangutan Friends Club
This youth club organization is designed to instill a sense of pride in young Indonesians about their beautiful environment and its unique inhabitants, especially the orangutan. We currently have over 800 members, who hold regular meetings at our headquarters to discuss current environmental issues and to plan awareness-raising activities amongst their peers. During the last few months the Orangutan Friends Club members have taken part in a variety of activities such as paper recycling, cross-country and outward bound activities, and herbarium training.
Community Training
Training days are held for local people at our project sites and during conservation camps. To date, we have provided training on the following: creating tree nurseries and seed banks, composting and organic farming techniques, and ecological surveying techniques such as orangutan nest surveys (a technique used to assess population numbers and density), forest condition surveys, flora and fauna surveys, establishing herbariums for flora samples, boat handling for riverine surveys, nature photography, orangutan behaviour research techniques and more. This kind of training is essential for the next generation of Indonesian conservationists, so that they are capable of working towards a sustainable future for their forests.