Regenerating Rainforests

Craftswoman Lina from Pampang Harapan Village in Indonesia has created wickerwork crafts since she was a young girl. She recalls her earliest memories learning how to craft wicker from bamboo and rattan from the plentiful rainforests around her. Now, collecting and weaving bamboo is an integral part of her daily routine, relationships, and livelihood.

“I can afford my children’s education fee by selling bamboo wickerwork. I can give them pocket money every day.”

In her lifetime, Lina has become an expert craftswoman with a deep understanding of the delicate relationship between humans and the rainforest. This includes all the resources the forest can offer to those who harvest responsibly – and what can happen when the relationship becomes unbalanced. 

“If the forest is destroyed, we will not be able to take bamboo and fruits from the forest, and they are our source of life. The local people agree to protect and conserve the forest together because we need the forest.”

Bu Lina is one of many women in her village, and other villages around Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesian Borneo, who engages in a livelihood that supports her family without harming the forest. Since ASRI began investing in community-designed solutions, women in these communities have launched over 400 small businesses as alternatives to logging or other forest-harming activities!

Thanks to your support, ASRI and Health In Harmony will continue working with women like Bu Lina to ensure their families, the surrounding rainforest, and the planet benefit from interconnected solutions designed by the experts - rainforest communities. 

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• Click to hear more from Lina!