Dayak Youth Development Project
“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can”. – John Wesley
This program is designed to support Dayak youth from Kalimantan to achieve their full potential as leaders of their people in the future. We have identified a number of people who we feel fit the criteria and have the right attitude, commitment, passion and skills necessary to be future leaders in different areas of influence.
We are also constantly searching for those interested to be part of this program for the future and establishing a development plan with the individual. At this stage the program is funded by David Metcalf, however we are looking for sponsors and donors to support this critically important program. Whilst this program has been operating for a number of years, it is now being properly formalised with a structure and development program for each individual depending on their needs and wants. As of March 2020 these are the individuals that are on this program and what has been achieved so far.
Siti Habibah | Artist/Dancer | Dayak Ngjau Palakaraya, Central Kalimantan
Lives in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Siti is the leader of the Spirit of the Hornbills Dance Academy, and has been a dance teacher for the past ten years, at schools and privately at her dance academy which was founder in 2013 when she was 23 years old.
The dance/music academy has developed significantly over the past 7 years and now provides daily teaching to students in Palangkarya city, where the academy has its own studio. She also teaches dance to children in riverside villages near Palangkaraya. Two years ago they developed a train the trainer program, so that there are competent, well trained dance teachers in these villages around Kalimantan.
Many of the students have had opportunities to perform in Jakarta, Bali, and Kuching, Malaysia at the rainforest music festival in 2019, and at Woodford folk festival in Australia in 2020. They have developed many Dayak youth artists to become dance and music teachers, as volunteers. The dance academy has become more of a centre of teaching and learning traditional dance/music and welcomes dancers from other parts of Indonesia and the world to come and learn with them. They have had indigenous dance groups from Australia and other countries come to the studio and do dance collaborations.
Yun Pratiwi | Tourism Specialist | Dayak Ngjau Palangkarya, Central Kalimantan
Yun started as an independent tour guide in 2015, taking tourists to places around her home town of Palangkaraya after she graduated from University with a degree in English.
She then formed her own company and started to concentrate more on green/eco and indigenous tourism, taking visitors on educational, adventure trips to Sebangu National Park and Dayak villages in the area. She also supports her sister Siti Habibah’s dance academy and regularly brings people to the studio to learn about traditional Dayak Dance and music.
Yun, has visited many countries including Japan, South Korea, Thailand to learn more about eco tourism and visited the United States in 2019 as part of the YSEALI program. She also started the first home stay in Palangkaraya, continues to develop her company and now hires local Dayak guides. Future plans are to develop indigenous tourism to support the Dayak communities throughout Kalimantan. Yun is very organised, efficient and reliable, speaks very good English and is very committed to develop Eco tourism and support Dayak culture.
Dessy | Educator | Dayak Simpang | Tahak Village, West Kalimantan
Dessy graduated from University in Pontianak , West Kalimantan with an English degree in 2018. After graduating from University she attended the Green School in Bali for 6 months as part of an internship, teacher support program. Dessy is also a speaker, dancer and singer and represented her culture on a few occasions in Bali and in Kuching, Malaysia at the Indigenous film festival in Kuching in 2019.
She was chosen as a youth leader to take some elders from her village to an indigenous event in the Phillipines in 2019 also. Dessy co founded the Sakolah Adat (customary school) program in her village in 2017 and assists other Dayak youth leaders to start Sakolah Adat in their areas.
She is very knowledgeable about the food and plants in the forests of Kalimantan and is working with her local community to create sustainable jobs in agriculture, tourism and is determined to protect the forests in her area which are under threat from Palm Oil development. She works with her brother to produce short documentary films and wants to build and open a Sakolah Adat high school on her family land in 2021. Dessy needs help in goal setting, organisational skills and planning, public speaking, developing leadership skills and expanding her influence.
Joh | Health And Education | Dayak Kanayan | Pontianak, West Kalimantan
Joh is currently at University studying to become a nurse. In 2019 he started the Sakolah Adat program in Sebangi Village, West Kalimantan and is very passionate about the arts and teaches the kids dance and drama.
He will spend one month at ASRI in Ketapang, West Kalimantan in March 2020 learning about their successful program working with the local communities protecting the forests and wildlife through health initiatives.
Joh plans to continue to expand the Sakolah Adat program in more villages and improve his English speaking skills. Joh needs help with capacity building, organisational skills, stress management.
Deli | Education , Tourism, Arts | Dayak Simpang | Tahak Village, West Kalimantan
Deli graduates from senior high school in April 2020 and was planning to perform at the World Indigenous Tourism Conference in Perth in April, but this event has been deferred until November. Deli is a very talented dancer and Sape player and is the co founder of Sakolah Adat in her village with her sister Dessy.
She is not quite sure what path she wants to take but wants to work in tourism as a way to support the community and protect the forests of Kalimantan. She also wants to pursue the arts and represent her culture at public events in the future.
Deli is very mature for her age and highly talented and very good with people, especially children. She has natural MC skills and is very confidant behind a microphone. Deli needs to improve her English speaking skills, although she has improved tremendously over the past 6 months.
Dersi | Film Making | Dayak Simpang | Tahak, West Kalimantan
Dersi is a very talented young film maker who is developing these skills whilst attending high school near his local village. He has received some training from two experienced film makers who visited his village and plans are to have him attend indigenous film festivals in 2020, and more film making camps. Plans are to find him a mentor that he can continue to learn from.
Dersi needs to learn English also. He is getting support in terms of film making equipment eg. laptop, drone, camera lens, phone to support his film making efforts. Dersi is very talented and understands a lot about the forest and environment in which he lives.
Whilst very young I think Dersi has a bright future and will respond positively to any support he receives. We think that what Dersi is doing will encourage other young film makers in the community to tell their stories this way.
