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Random Diss Excerpt #8


"Our work depends on nature. If it floods, then we can build canals and float logs out. If there are no floods then we have to build a jalan kuda [which is a handbuilt railway made of hardwood, over which logs are manually dragged out of the peat swamps].”

-- Indigenous logger in Central Kalimantan

To any environmentalist, this statement may seem like a contradiction. How can one speak of interdependence with nature, and yet destroy nature by cutting down trees? For the Ngaju however, there is no such contradiction. Environmentalists may label certain aspects of the current livelihood repertoire of Ngaju Dayak as destructive, but Ngaju Dayak in the village of Baun Bango consistently describe their work and their livelihood as being interdependent with nature.

"When I'm in the village I get restless. But I'm happy when I'm in the forest because that's where my work is. When I'm in the forest, i don't feel uneasy. I always know exactly what to do. I feel one with the forest."

-- Another indigenous logger in Central Kalimantan

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Unknown said…
Ow Padma's horrors stories on Kalimantan being brought back

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