Please note that we are not a commercial operation. All proceeds from guests are “donations” and 100% of the money is used to fund FNPF’s project work. By staying with us, you get to stay in a unique environment, participate in conservation and community development work, and provide funds that help FNPF to continue its work.
If you looking for an inherent understanding of local Indonesian communities, culture, spirituality, the threats to the amazing wildlife and habitat, and to experience the work of a small local frontline conservation & community development NGO … then you are the volunteer we are looking for. You will work closely with our staff and local communities and join a programme that will benefit local people, wildlife and habitat.
Our programme is also appropriate for those considering a long term volunteer role in a remote location (Central Kalimantan or elsewhere in Indonesia). Our programme will give you a taste of what it is really like to live and work in a remote area, working for a small frontline conservation and community development organisation.
FNPF Kalimantan (Borneo) Volunteer Programme
FNPF will place volunteers to work with our teams in one of 2 project locations: Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) and Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve (LRWR).
IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO READ BEFORE YOU APPLY
Our project sites are in remote and tough environments, with basic accommodation and food, for authentic taste of local way of life and jungle experience.
Accommodations available will be a mixture of home stay with local family, field staff quarters and hammocks in the trees.
Adaptability to the field conditions and a basic understanding of the local culture would be helpful.
How to get to Central Kalimantan (Borneo)?
You must organise your own travel costs to the meeting point, which is the airport town of Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, Borneo.
Pangkalan Bun is reachable…
By air – direct flight from Jakarta are scheduled daily (duration of the flight 1.20 hr), and also from the main Javanese city of Semarang and Surabaya. There are also flights from many other Indonesian cities.
Please note that some domestic flights in Indonesia, especially to Kalimantan (Borneo) can only be booked from port of departure and only 1 month prior to arrival. Please contact us on the following email address to have assistance with your domestic flights booking: info.kalimantan@fnpf.org.
Once you land in Pangkalan Bun, your project guide will meet you and your fellow volunteers, and will accompany you to the FNPF office in the town of Kumai, 40 minutes away from the airport.
By sea – It is also possible to catch a ferry from Semarang or Surabaya directly to Kumai harbor (approximately 24 hrs).
After a brief orientation in the Kumai FNPF office you will be ready to leave to the first project site.
Tanjung Puting National Park
The first destination will be the Tanjung Harapan village, also known as Sekonyer village, on the borders with Tanjung Puting National Park. Volunteers will stay with a family in the village, will be welcomed in the local primary schools to teach English and help the FNPF environment education programme. Volunteers will live with the locals as locals.
From the Sekonyer Village, volunteers will travel to the FNPF re-forestation sites of Pesalat and Padang Sembilan, where you will take part in the FNPF re-forestation project, help planting trees, nursing saplings, monitoring the re-forestation site. All this at a short distance from the Tanjung Puting orangutan release sites, with plenty of wildlife and secondary forest. You won’t miss the opportunity of cruising along the Sekonyer river and spot macaques, proboscis monkeys, red leaf monkeys hornbills, kingfishers, and if lucky enough also wild orangutans and crocodiles.
FNPF re-forestation projects
Pesalat, located within the Tanjung Puting National Park, is the first re-forestation site established by FNPF since the year 2000. Volunteers can experience the effects of a successful re-forestation project.
Volunteers will also visit the re-forestation site of Padang Sembilan, close to Beguruh re-forestation site on the borders with Tanjung Puting National Park, where volunteers will spend the night sleeping in hammocks.
At approximately 1.5 hours trek from the Sekonyer River there is the FNPF self-sustainable farm of Jerumbun. Volunteer will spend a night, help with farming and also have the opportunity to see and feel the effect of oil palm plantations, logging and mining on the surrounding forest.
Volunteers will spend a total of 5 days in Tanjung Puting area including travelling time.
Volunteers will not handle orangutans
Please do not apply if you are hoping to handle orangutans during this project.
In 2002 the Indonesian government introduced regulations that prevent orangutans that have been held in captivity from being released into areas containing wild orangutan populations (because of risk of disease). So FNPF no longer runs a permanent orangutan rescue, rehabilitation & release centre. Instead FNPF focuses on reforestation to rebuild native orangutan habitat within Tanjung Puting National Park and Lamandau Reserve, and to help local communties.
FNPF occasionally rescues wild orangutans from nearby palm oil plantations and relocates them into the safety of the park or reserve.
Why we do not work directly with oranguntans
FNPF’s holistic approach integrates community development projects with wildlife & habitat conservation. There is considerable controversy over the real purpose and benefit of orangutan rehabilitation facilities (they have become lucrative tourist attractions and few orangutans are successfully released to survive in the wild). So FNPF chooses to focus on reforestation projects to create habitat for wild and ex-captive orangutans (and other wildlife). Reforestation also helps restore the native environment, reduces soil erosion and flash flooding, and will combat climate change. We combine this with community development projects to bring benefit to the local communities (education, agro-forestry, eco tourism). Check our website to Sponsor a Hectar of Orangutan Habitat, help FNPF to rebuild native forest habitat to support and increase population of orangutan.
Volunteers that join FNPF’s programme will not have direct contact with orangutans. But volunteers will accompany the local school children to the 3pm feeding station of Tanjung Harapan as part of FNPF education programme. And volunteers are very likely to see wild orangutans.
Nevertheless, volunteers that want to visit Camp Leakey can arrange a tour before or after the project with local travel agencies. FNPF staff will be happy to assist volunteers with that.
Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve
After Tanjung Puting National Park, volunteers will spend 5 days including travelling time, in the FNPF re-forestation site(Pos Kajang) in Lamandau region.
Pos Kajang re-forestation site Lamandau Reserve
Pos Kajang, FNPF re-forestation site, will be a completely change of scenario. This project has started only 2 years ago therefore, the land and forest regeneration process is still at the embryonic stage. Accommodation and life conditions are very basic.
While Staying at Pos Kajang, volunteers will be involved in planting, nursing saplings, making compost, as well as helping with mapping the area and collecting data on the local wildlife and habitat.
Volunteers will also go on long walks, and visit the village of Sungai Pasir, an ex-loggers village now converted to self sustainable agriculture. This is an opportunity to observe the effects of local and international NGOs community development work.
Volunteer activities
Volunteers will be expected to help with these daily activities, help and guidance will be always available by our field staff, and of course by your tour guide.
FNPF is also looking for volunteers willing to help with data collection and information recording in these areas of interest. FNPF is in need of skilled volunteers that can help to document the local wisdom and pass it on to the future generation.
On top of that, volunteers that are willing to help in mapping the re-forestation area in Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve are welcome. Camp staff guidance and GPS will be provided.
Also volunteers will be involved in English lessons in the local school and English conversation with the locals in the village and with FNPF staff.
Volunteers must be also prepared to share accommodation, meals, work tools and personal space with other volunteers and local staff.
Skilled Volunteers
If you have any specific skills that you want us to be aware of, please email us with details. To be a volunteer with FNPF, you do not need to have any specific skills other than being in general good physical health and enthusiasm to help us with our projects.
We will “try” to use your specialist skills, but please understand that we ask volunteers to join in with general activities for which you do not need to have any previous experience.
Volunteer Costs with FNPF
During the volunteer programme all cost will be covered by FNPF with your fee and part of this will go as a donation to contribute to the cost of running the FNPF facility and projects. Please appreciate that the volunteer programme provides you with fun and experience, and provides FNPF with your assistance and a donation towards our projects.
We are currently requesting AU$500, plus AU$ 25 internet payment fee, which makes about AU$50 a day per person. This include all your cost from the time you land in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan (Borneo), until you fly out.
What is included in you project fee
WHAT MUST I BRING TO KALIMANTAN (BORNEO)?
At minimum, you must bring Indonesian Rupiah cash, for your personal expenses (you might want to buy souvenirs or cold drinks) and 2 photocopies of your passport.
Photocopies of your passport are required in order to process police checks, which is normal practice for tourist in Indonesia. The National Park Authorities require that all visitors provide a photocopy of the passport details page and a photocopy of the Indonesian visa.
Please click on the following links and read our details section for more information on how you should prepare to go to Kalimantan (Borneo).
- Detailed schedule of the 10 day programme
- Essential equipment and clothing
- Indonesian culture and people
- Behaviour with orangutans and wildlife
- Health recommendations
- What is included and volunteer responsibilities
NEXT STEPS IF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER
Email us with your preferred dates and any question you might have for us.
If you are keen to volunteer, then please CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the application form and send it to info@fnpf.orgWe will then review your request and confirm whether we have availability. To secure your placement, you will then be asked to pay a deposit of 50%. Please note that we cannot secure a place without a deposit (we receive many requests to volunteer from people who change their plans).
