Lorna Dowson-Collins owns Kalimantan round destinations based eco-tourism company in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. She was involved in various sustainable community development projects in Kalimantan over the years, including REDD, USAID and AusAID before launching his own social enterprise, Kalimantan Tourist destinations. We talk about his passion for Kalimantan and social entrepreneurship.
How long have you lived in Indonesia?
I arrived in Indonesia in 1968 and I grew up here. I was a student JIS. I returned to the UK for 20 years, went to college and got married, but all the time I'm in the UK I missed Indonesia. I would go back and do consulting work on forests, climate and empowering communities and then finally I had a great life change in 2003, allowing me to return to Indonesia.
Do you still love Kalimantan?
The first time I went to Kalimantan in late 80s, I did not like it! I was raised in Java, which was all about the rice fields, mountains, refinement and beauty, and the first time I went to Kalimantan, it was hot and there was nothing. I had not gone to the forest - I was just in Palangkaraya - and I thought, there's nothing here! I had a friend working on a development project that I am involved in and I began to appreciate the Dayaks and their lifestyle more and more.
Tell us about "bottom-up planning" and how you brought in Kalimantan?
I was working with local communities so they can identify what their needs were, and then articulate that government authorities allowing them to listen to the community. What often happens is the government sends trees in villages to the plant unsuitable for the area - who do not understand the real needs of the local population. We turned it around so that local people have begun to identify what it was that they needed to progress and articulate it. This was the beginning of the bottom-up planning in Kalimantan.
Have worked with the World Bank on the Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Mandiri Perdesaan. Tell us about this project.
This was one of their incredibly successful programs. I helped to design some training programs which train facilitators so they know how to facilitate work with the community to really start identifying needs and how to train people in the community to be able to express those needs. It was a very exciting time because there were a lot of changes taking place.
What is social entrepreneurship?
Social entrepreneurship is something I'm really interested in.
is like a business, but what is really important is that the bottom line is that people and the environment, and the benefits.
Not that profit is what drives everything. A social business must be profitable, but not at the expense of the community or the environment. I was interested in how businesses could become an engine of change instead of the big bad.
How and why did you start your business, Kalimantan Tourist destinations (KTD)?
With my partner Gaye Thavisin, we entered a competition in the Netherlands in 2006 called business in the Challenge development, with more than 1,600 participants worldwide, and we was one of the winners! We won some money, which was enough to set up our society, and I strongly believe that it was the business plan that we created during this competition that prepared us for everything we experienced during configuration and enterprise management.
The idea was that we would have a river cruise for customers to discover the wonderful culture and nature that Central Kalimantan has to offer. We work with local communities to ask them what they would do to welcome people to their village and how they would do it.
What changes in the region have you noticed through your social enterprise?
Sangar, who are the local dance groups, have been dying off that the tradition began fade, but we were able to get young children re-learning the dances because they are made for our customers on every trip.
Bone houses also began to be preserved as we pay a fee to families that maintain them. We use canoes of local villagers, rent directly from them rather than buying our own. The villagers could make money directly from our business and every year we negotiate new prices with them, so there is never haggling.
What is the most important message you are trying to convey to the Government by KTD?
People come to Kalimantan to see nature, which becomes increasingly difficult to find in the world. Palangkaraya is so accessible and tell the government that they have such assets if they keep the forest intact.
What are the factors you see the influence of dieback Dayak traditions and beliefs?
The idea of going to a Dayak sky is really expensive, as seen in their extravagant funeral ceremonies, while a Muslim or a Christian heaven is much cheaper, which led to the disappearance of the culture.
In your experience, what happens when the Dayak people are given ownership of forests in Kalimantan?
It depends in what area. In the part of Kalimantan that we were close to the city, much of the talk was that if we give rights to the Dayaks to be the guardians of the earth, they will look after, but in fact what happening was that once they have the right to the forest, they were looking for buyers to sell the land and make money. This kind of sentiment to occupy the land has been eroded. The Dayaks would say, "Since the 1970s, foreigners came and took all our land, and we just stood by. If we do not do something, then we're not going to get anything. "
When I was with Indonesian Forest and Climate Strategy (IFACS) with US Aid as Kalimantan advisor, I took West Kalimantan, where the outlook was very different. in Gunung Palung, wanting to occupy the land and the jungle was still very much a part of their culture and they had very sustainable farming methods.
is President Jokowi nothing to protect forests in Indonesia?
Jokowi announced succession integrated Food & Energy Merauke (MIFEE) where he wants 1.2 million hectares of rice fields developed within three years. He does not try to land suitability, most experts say will be like the Mega rice project, the project failed Suharto in Kalimantan, where 1 million hectares of peatlands have been cleared to make way for rice, which was unable to grow in the region. A weak leader thinks that if he makes decisions like this, it makes him look strong and proactive where in reality it is likely going to be a huge disaster.
What the future holds for you?
I would like to convey to others how to create a future through the company. You can be in control with business planning and looking at the resources available to you, provide good customer service - that is what I like to spread to others. I want people to understand that with a clear vision and awareness that is there to help him make things better.
Thank you, Lorna. To get in touch, email lornadc@gmail.com