Sumatra Orang-Utan Rainforest Conservation

Gunung Leuser has one of the most concentrated population of Orang-Utans in the southern hemisphere but deforestation and encroachment of their habitat has destroyed their environment and displaced them from the natural forest. To prevent this from going further you will support the work of our partner organization OIC with tasks like reforestation, educational work and, if needed, rescuing Orang-Utans.

Maintaining natural habitat – Reforestation: Our work in a nursery garden on the brink of the Gunung Leuser National Park is a substantial part of the program. Support needed here might include the collection of seeds, planting of seedlings or filling of polybags. More than this you also learn about techniques on how to really plant in a seedling orchard.

Jungle Trek: Next to our work in the nursery garden we set off to our several days excursion into the Gunung Leuser National Park to really explore and get to know the beauty of this area and its wildlife! We will be accompanied by local experts informing us about the flora and fauna surrounding us. Also they will teach us on how we can read the foodprints here and which nests, food remains or scratchings indicate which animals live here. Also we get to know a lot about why the ecosystem in Gunung Leuser is so endangered. This trek not only is very informative but also in beautiful, exotic surrounding. A place, that you usually don`t get so see in a regular holiday!

Human Orang-Utan Response Unit (HOCRU): The HOCRU program is the only initiative in this region that directly deals with the Human-Orang Utan conflict. Besides the observation of Orang Utans near plantations and fields, a fundamental part of their work is rescuing Orang Utans on plantations or from illegal animal trade. You will accompany the team here during their ongoing work.

Community Agroforestry, Reforestation & Education (CARE): The CARE project of the OIC helps to support sustainable agriculture in the villages. One of the main reasons for the forest clearance and also the cutback of the rainforest is that farmers use this land for their agriculture. In the CARE project these farmers are educated in sustainable agriculture to see alternatives to their daily work that endangers the rainforest.

How close will you work with the Orang Utans? We get this asked a lot. As the aim is to really save them the real physical contact is more unlikely to happen - for medical and psychological reasons.