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Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is our privilege to announce that, after two and a half years of nomadic wandering in search of indigenous guidance, Apo Calypso Productions has come full circle. What once began as a vision to germinate seeds of inspiration in tarnished soil is now flourishing into a garden of mental and spiritual nourishment. Our continued devotion to our vision has brought us home, to the place of our origin, looking back on the journey we have undertaken thus far.


Apo Calypso Productions find our selves welcomed, once again, into the luminous valleys where the Massai of Kenya continue to preserve their indigenous ways of life. Here, under the sun beaming skies of the rift valley, we have come to fulfill a promise to the community of Il Ngwesi and to conclude the final chapter of our approach to films of cultural immersion.

Throughout the course of the last three weeks, Apo Calypso Productions has been thoroughly engaged with the community, presenting them with the fruits of our collaborative labors. We have been traveling throughout the territory, showcasing Il Ngwesi: People of Wildlife to elders, women, warriors and children alike, providing an opportunity for the community to reflect and celebrate their own way of life that has served as a driving force behind our works. We hope that the introduction of this film of cultural reclamation to those Maasai children who occupy the six schools within the territory will help to reinforce the legitimacy of indigenous forms of knowledge and help to preserve the profound connection that the Maasai maintain with their environment.


Recognizing the privilege we have had in being able to spend so much time with the Maasai, we will be sharing our intimate encounters with those who are less fortunate. For many slum dwellers in Kenya, the Maasai, despite their close proximity, are a world apart. Trapped in a vicious game of survival in the bottom rung of an oppressive hierarchy, many street children find themselves orphans whose only guidance are the rules of the street, where they are forced to survive on the waste of others. We will be organizing a screening of our film in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, where inhabitants of all ages are welcome to witness the bondage-free lifestyle that the Maasai have been able to achieve. Furthermore, we will be inviting a number of street children to accompany us in our intimate encounters with the Maasai, in hopes of awakening them to a world of possibility outside of their own.

In light of our devotion to the mission of inspiring sustainability through living indigenous cultures, we are always eager to find new ways that increase our ability to do just this. Thus, in order to keep up with the rapid technological advancements in the film industry, given our recent upgrades in technical capacities, we will be attempting to recreate Il Ngwesi in a High-Definition format. This undertaking will help to enhance the aesthetic capabilities of the film in rendering audiences awe-struck, increase its ability to inspire, and better connect viewers to those essential life-giving relationships from which the modern world is often removed.

With this journey we are also beginning to look outside the niche of film-making and photography for other means of accomplishing our mission. Hence the development of a new eco-tourism company: Baraka Tours. A collaboration between the community of Il Ngwesi and Apo Calypso Productions, Baraka Tours will specialize in providing tourists with unique and intimate encounters with the Maasai of Il Ngwesi and the fisherman culture of Lamu. Unlike many other tour companies, Baraka Tours will cater to providing life-changing experiences that grant clients the chance to not only visit these communities, but to stay and live amongst them as well. This initiative, furthermore, will inevitably help Il Ngwesi to preserve their way of life simply by practicing it. Though it is a massive undertaking to develop such an initiative, we believe it to be a worthwhile endeavour for both the community as well as the tourists, who will take home with them a renewed perspective of community and environment. Having already spoken to the community, organized accommodations, obtained a sail-boat, and brought a number of American tourists to Il Ngwesi, Baraka tours is well underway.

In addition to this new development, we are also in the process of creating, in collaboration with Il Ngwesi, a line of Maasai jewellery to be distributed back in Toronto, and inevitably beyond. Maasai Mama, the working name for the initiative, will distribute fair trade Maasai products to cultural and fashion outlets throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Each of these cultural pieces will be accompanied by a unique biography of its creator, and the inspiration behind the piece. We believe that, given the bold color, unique design, and incredible durability of the jewellery, Maasai Mama has the potential to tend to a far-reaching demographic, who, by purchasing the jewellery, will contribute directly to Il Ngwesi in their fight to preserve their culture. We will be undertaking a series of photo shoots over the course of the next month to help promote this line.

While these business endeavors get underway, the development of our new website and business plan continues to advance. We hope that come late-August, Apo Calypso will have a new online domain, from which we will continue to keep you updated with video, photographic, and written documentation of progress we are making towards the completion of our world-wide 7-part meditative series on the magical essence and profound sustainability of the indigenous worldview. We look forward to it.

Onward and Upward,
Apo Calypso Productions

Water Hour: June 11th, 8PM

Rockin' Steady...

Far away from the fabricated metropolis of Toronto, we find ourselves taking a plunge back into the natural world. Away from the fantasy land that disguises exploitation as paradise, we have delved into the realm of the Ital: the organic way of life that the fishermen of Treasure Beach, Jamaica adhere to in order to sustain themselves and their children's' children. Though two weeks immersed in their culture, their simplistic yet benevolent lifestyle, is hardly enough to gather a holistic account of the teachings and understandings that ensure their posterity, our accomplishments have surpassed our expectations.

The remote, southern coastal tropical community of Treasure Beach, comprised of four fishermen villages is hardly your typical Jamaican tourist destination. Unlike the resort plagued city of Montego Bay, or the war-torn ghettoes of Kingston, Treasure Beach is one of few remaining places in Jamaica where inhabitants have maintained an intimate connection to the land they inhabit, acknowledging its preservation as paramount to their longevity. Their land is one of abundance: mango, guava, coconut, tamarind, and sea grapes flourish while the oceanic tides of the Caribbean Sea bring with them snapper, flounder, shrimp, lobster and other underwater delicacies.

Our stay, however short lived, was spent with a remarkable family who together as a family uphold their appreciation, spiritually, mentally, and physically, for the gifts that nature has bestowed upon them. This family is a living example of community solidarity, maintaining a strong bond of support amongst themselves as well as an active voice that speaks on behalf of the land that they occupy. Cultivating the land, gathering plants and the fruits that they yield, and harvesting medicines are this family's primary source of sustenance and we were honored with the privilege of having been able to accompany them on their day-to-day mission to preserve what they have inherited from their ancestors.


Throughout the duration of our trip we were able to initiate, develop, and strengthen a relationship with this community. This relationship became one based on a shared concern for the world's ever distancing relationship with themselves, as a global family, and their environment, the most fundamental component of existence. By exchanging stories we were able to gain the family's support on our mission to locate, learn, and share those understandings that people of the land the world over have always acknowledged. Hence, a collaboration with the community was soon underway.

We were able to accumulate an archive of footage demonstrating the practices and insights that this culture has to contribute to the re-imagining of humanity's relationship to their environment: a glance into the Ital mentality, which is based on embracing the natural and rejecting the artificial. This footage will be distributed alongside our proposal for the seven-film series that has been underway for the last two years as a promotional trailer with which we will be seeking to secure funding for a prolonged, full-length production featuring the Ital of Treasure Beach.

After our visit to Jamaica we flew to Miami to reconnect with Lucho Condor, who we met at the 2009 International Indigeneous Leadership Gathering in the St'at'imc Nation, in order to hand deliver footage that he had requested from last year's event. A Columbian healer and teacher, Lucho has been performing ceremony, directing his energy towards the cleansing of the oil-ridden Gulf of Mexico. Lucho was delighted to host us at his home for a number of days, throughout which we took part in one of these meditation ceremonies, became introduced to the spiritual community of Miami, hosted an ocean front screening of our first film, Il Ngwesi, and partook in a series of in-depth conversations discussing our potential role in his film project, Prophecy: The Last Message. This experience film that is 13 years in the works seeks to tell the story of the fulfillment of the ancient Eagle and Condor Prophecies foretold by Kogi and Hopi elders centuries ago. These prophecies predicted a time of immense social, environmental, and psychological unrest from which mother Earth would ultimately be cleansed. Our participation as film crew on the project would involve a number of weeks spent in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and ultimately, India. This journey would also provide the opportunity to film, as part of our proposed series, the Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada. We look forward to maintaining a direct line of communication with Lucho throughout the forthcoming months.


Having arrived back in Toronto it is now time to devote ourselves towards the intensive endeavour of producing: four trailers, four photo albums, and one soundtrack that will accompany the business plan we will be using to attract investment for the proposed series of seven films. We will be on a very tight and hectic schedule until the 25th of June, by which time all of these components shall have been completed. This will ensure that Apo Calypso Productions is in a comfortable position to begin attracting large-scale funding before we depart on our long awaited and highly anticipated return to Kenya. Having obtained the means to complete the mission that we have undertaken, the time will have come to return full circle and pay homage to our beginnings in the Rift Valley by showcasing our first film to the community that inspired it all.

Onward and Upward,

Apo Calypso Production

When a Fish Outgrows its Cage, the Cage breaks.

Apo Calypso Productions is shifting its lenses throughout the far reaching crannies, corners, and nooks of the earth in search of those few remaining communities who continue to live according to the cycles of nature. As our odyssey progresses, our footage accumulates like raindrops in puddles and our international network of people of the land branches like roots, further harnessing us to the land.

It has, from the beginning of its foundation, been Apo Calypso's plan to develop a series of cultural Immersion films, each documenting a distinct group of peoples who have demonstrated a profound capacity to live in balance with their environments. Using Il Ngwesi as our original model and template, we hope to produce a number of films that will inevitably be released as a collection of films that reconnect people, through these various cultures, to the land upon which they depend. Having already acquired the footage for three of these films, we are now, with evidence of our capability and potential, in the process of developing a coherent Business proposal that will articulate our vision for the project and the way we will go about realizing it.

In light of our need to buckle down to complete this essential document, we have decided to remove ourselves from the distractions that the world of convenience often provides. Far away. In fact, we will be spending the next two weeks in Treasure Beach, an isolated paradise along the southern coast of Jamaica. This location is one of the places least frequented by tourists, and subsequently one of few remaining areas where grass roots fishermen communities continue to prosper. This will grant us the chance to, while working on our proposal, simultaneously acquire footage for our fourth film of the series.

The fishermen of Jamaica are a unique peoples who have been forced to adapt to a land that they do not consider as home. Violently uprooted from their motherland, the fishermen long for Zion in a land that, despite its natural beauty and abundance, is sprawled with social and environmental decay. Observing this destruction from afar, the fishermen choose to maintain their original pact with the creator to maintain the land they have been bestowed. While not technically an indigenous peoples, the fishermen of Great Bay, Jamaica maintain a deep connection to their surroundings, for which they continually give thanks. These people have a particular relationship to water: a sacred resource that directly feeds entire communities. For the fishermen, the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides also quenches a spiritual thirst as a microcosm of a larger universal cycle, by which they are contained. For a brief visual meditation of their cultural way of life accompanied by the soothing reggae sounds of the Congos, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JhTM0Lar3Q

Following our immersion into the ways of life of the fishermen villages of Treasure Beach, we will be making a brief stop-over in Miami, where we will spend the weekend with Lucho Condor. Lucho is a member of the Humanitarian Leaders, a founder of Tribal Link News, a yoga teacher, and a spiritual healer. Over the course of seven years he has developed a very intimate relationship with the mysterious Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada in Northern Colombia: so close that the Kogi, who are very sensitive to the unseen forces that surround us, recognize Lucho as having lived amongst them in a past life. During the course of our stay we will be expressing our hopes to visit the Kogi in their homeland in October, and will be learning more about Lucho's latest film project, entitled Prophecy: The Last Message. We will be discussing what kind of role we will be able to serve in this film that seeks to document the collaboration between Kogi and Hopi spiritual leaders who are bound by their shared prophecy of the Eagle of the North and the Condor of the South. The film will be a very fulfillment of the prophecy as both groups meet in Colombia to perform ceremony at sacred sites before embarking on a nation-wide tour through out the United States to share their prophecies and teachings. This tour will conclude at the United Nations in New York City, where these medicine men will deliver their final message to the western world. For more information about Lucho's project, visit his blog at: http://tribalinknews.blogspot.com/.

Upon our return to Toronto on the 25th of May we will be putting the final touches upon the series proposal. Once completed, the proposal will be distributed alongside the Final cut of Il Ngwesi, three film trailers for British Columbia, Indonesia, and Jamaica, respectively, four photo albums, and a demonstration of the diverse cultural songs and chants we have acquired thus far. This package will serve to help us to secure funding and investment required to complete the task at hand.

Once we have finished this proposal, we will begin development of a Beta HTML website that will serve as a platform for sharing information regarding the series that is currently underway. This should be up and running within the forthcoming months.

Furthermore, we will also be hosting a number of fundraising gallery, screening, and party events throughout the month of June. We will keep you updated as these events present themselves.

While our intention to visit the Bedouins of Jordan this summer has been postponed due to logistics and the emergence of these new opportunities, we look forward to connecting with them at a later date, as our contact base in Jordan Strengthens and grows. Instead, we will be embarking upon a long-awaited return to Kenya, the birthplace of humanity, and the starting point of Apo Calypso Productions. Here, with the help of the Cultural Video Foundation in Nairobi, and Saaya Tema in Il Ngwesi, we will be hosting two free screenings of our first film:IL Ngwesi: People of Wildlife. The first screening will give street children and slum dwellers in Kibera, Nairobi(A slum of a million people) the opportunity to immerse themselves in a way of life that, though exists only in their own backyard, is rarely accessible to them. The second screening will be hosted in the community of Il Ngwesi itself. Projected in natural surroundings amongst the wild backdrop of the Rift Valley, this screening will give Masai a chance to see themselves on the big screen, as we ask for their blessing. This visit will ensure that our connection to the community will never be forgotten and bring our model for films-for-development full circle.

We are thankful for the path that lies before us, and ask for guidance and protection as we embark on this mission that doesn't quite ever end.


Onwards and Upwards,
Apo Calypso Productions

Coming Full Circle: Eyes on the Middle East

After taking flight from Indonesia the Apo Calypso team now finds themselves spread across the world, initializing preparations for their next expedition.

Back at the base in Toronto, the intensive reflection upon our most recent immersion into Indonesian culture is underway, as we enter into the project's post-production phase. Simultaneously, the crew has been revisiting footage acquired from the 2009 International Indigenous Leadership Gathering. We find ourselves at a turning point, with the prospect of having three films completed in a total of a mere two years. With this in mind, a new and polished collection of copy-written photo albums has been completed to give our audience a more comprehensive and visually stimulating experience of our past and present endeavors, which we hope you will enjoy. Prints of these captivating images will be available to order via the web and at a forthcoming gallery exhibition in downtown Toronto that is yet to be announced. In addition, three new trailers and sound clips will be uploaded in the near future, finalizing the key elements that will provide the framework for a new webpage that is currently in development. The web page will provide a more interactive experience with the peoples, stories, and ways of life that we have encountered thus far. Brief teasers of the past three projects we have undertaken, alongside photos and traditional indigenous music will provide for an upcoming fundraising event that will provide the opportunity for people to engage with these communities, through our works. Accompanied by a live set of international cultural music and visual-art projections, the fundraiser is an opportunity for a great learning and sharing experience!

Turning your gaze onto the Eastern view, we have begun building a strong and promising Middle Eastern outreach and networking base. With the Bedouins of Wadi Rum as our projected next community of interest, meetings have been underway with representatives from the Royal Jordan Film Commission. The RFC is a relatively new organization and is pioneering film making in Jordan and endeavoring on grassroots initiatives to teach and promote Middle Eastern filmmakers to make films on the Middle East, for the Middle East. We find that their approach of representing their peoples and cultures from an inside out perspective is very consistent with our own and they too have shown an appreciation for our approach and interest in their tribal Bedouin communities. With their help, we can obtain permits to film and also gain a better concept of how to approach such groups with messages of comrodery and respect. Wadi Rum as a location has been very tempting as it would be a diverse landscape from the African Sahara, South East Asian Jungles, and the British Colombia Mountains and offer a unique view of the Middle Eastern Desert with all its brilliant shades and layers. In a valley surrounded by multifaceted rock cliffs, in a serene, quiet and empty landscape, we hope to amplify the voices of the indigenous Bedouin tribes and show the remaining symbols of their ancient culture and the imminent threat of its slipping into civilization and growing tourism.

A vague picture of the Bedouin life has entered into our imagination through research and dialogue with contacts close to them. They have a rich linguistic culture of oral storytelling and poetic night celebrations, accompanied by hypnotizing song and dance including the playing of distinct musical instruments such as the 3oud, Qanoon and Rababa to name a few. Many are sheppards and the elders are found with tattooed faces, while some have now resorted to making their ends meet off travelers, however this is also part of their culture. The Bedouins have an extensive sense of hospitability and have, throughout history, been nomadic and hence also uphold a high moral code when welcoming other travelers into their homes. It is tradition that once a wandering traveler happens upon a Bedouin tent, it is custom to host him for three days without even asking for his name. Through spending time in a desolate cliff cave, or a the open desert air, we hope to capture the myths of these people and to cultivate an understanding of their worldview, amplify their pride, and spread their stories around the world.

Having focused our eyes on the Middle East for our next expedition, we could not help but see, through our peripheral vision, the truth too often hidden in the region of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. With our strong base in Jordan, Rawan has reached down to her roots, to her country of origin, in hopes of establishing a stable network from whence to capture on film the struggles of the indigenous Palestinian people with no country or control. This subject is a more complex one to tackle as the area is under strict restrictions and can be of grave danger, so a meeting with Al-Jazeera was an enlightening experience. The head of Al-Jazeera in the West Bank was thrilled with the idea of a piece reflecting the Palestinian people’s struggles from the inside out onto the world in denial, and has catered for viewing of recent footage captured of the Wall and its effects on families and communities. He has also expressed interest in facilitating the obtaining of stock Palestinian footage and aiding us with contacts for permits to film inside Israel and the West Bank. A thorough scouting of locations, collection of personal stories, and the preliminary meetings with Al-Jazeera have incited an undeniable urge in us to venture into this no mans land and tell the story so rarely told. In addition, with Jordan and Palestine in the apple of our eyes, we foresee an overall Middle East archive of footage to be a great asset to Apo Calypso’s mission.

As our team prepares to reunite, we cannot forget where it all began: Kenya. This blessed place that gave birth to an idea and action that has led us thus far is in due of homage. Our goal is to be in the Middle East (Jordan/Palestinian Territories) for the month of July, and to go back to the land of the Massai in August to showcase to them the work we have produced of their worldview. With this act, screening Il-Ngwesi in the Kenyan bush to those it shed spotlight on, we hope to come full circle and give the final recognition and thanks to those who let us into their homes, hearts and minds.

Onward and Upward,

Apo Calypso Productions

Redemennu Mentawai

Following a long strenuous trek through knee high mud, a welcoming aloita (greeting) from the Mentawai clan ushered in our stay in their beautiful Umma (clan house). Sheltered from the rain in their wood home under the dried banana leaf roof, we began to observe our surroundings. Skulls of digested monkey and wild boar covered in spider webs, two fire pits and rays of light sneaking into the darkness gave a very distinct energy to the abode. At the onset, children were weary in fear of our unfamiliar faces. They sat close together and clung onto their elder siblings who were watching our every move intently. The man of the house, a young Shaman, soon appeared with his wife and mother-an elder referred to only as Mama. Mama's frail body was covered in ancient intricate patterned tattoos. As fascinating as they were to us, we were to them, and soon our interactions became deeper as we sat in the darkness of the silent night exchanging gifts and clarifying our intentions. Initially a Massai Rungu (hunting weapon) and an Eagle feather were given to the head of the house and beads were presented to Mama. Both were ecstatic! He placed the feather in his hair while Mama said she would make a headpiece out of the small yellow beads and treasure it to her grave. All listened closely and were greatly enthralled that they were now connected by these links to tribes across the globe with traditions so different to their own. They asked many questions about the lifestyle of the Massai and expressed amazement at their ways. Along the course of our stay, a second set of beads and feathers were given to an elder Shaman, by the name of Masa. Accompanying these gifts was a formal invitation from the St'at'imic Nation to the International Indigenous Gathering of 2010. He accepted this enthusiastically and logistics are to be worked out upon our return to Canada. This act of respect and appreciation for their culture led him to extend an invitation for a return and prolonged stay with him in his home. This was a sign of great success for Apo Calypso’s step one of its module; relationship building. In addition, it signaled the beginning of step two, collaboration, as Masa explained that in the next visit he would share the ancient Shaman ways of the Jungle.

As the sun awoke and the wild roosters crowed, every morning we rose with the Mentawai. As the children were off to school we had the privilege of participating with the elders in their daily activities. The Sagu tree serves an integral purpose for the Mentawai as their main source of food. Their elaborate processing of its nutrients is a practice passed down through the generations. They use every part of this being-the inside of the bark is scraped then filtered into a canoe filled with water. It soaks and transforms into an edible mush, which is then collected in a basket weaved from banana leaves, and stored underwater until it is needed. It is then dried and fed to the animals and family. One week’s work by four men for four hours a day provides enough Sagu for three months. Excess bark is sold in neighboring towns for furniture. In the evenings Mama would fill the dried Sagu into Sagu leaves and roast it in the backfire. On special occasions it would be marinated in coconut and sugar and have a mananam (delicious), mild and sweet taste.

The intimate relationship with their surrounding habitat has enabled the Mentawais to foster a deep knowledge of its workings. In preparation for a healing ceremony, we followed as the Shamans walked through the thick bush and collected the appropriate herbs for the illness to be treated. The ceremony itself included a chicken slaughter followed by a mystical song to ward off evil spirits. The herb concoction was then soaked and rubbed on the sick in a methodical cleansing manner. The treatment was miraculously effective, showcasing the strength of medicinal remedies made with nature's ingredients. The traditions of this culture are ample and the preservation of all living things is prevalent. Another close relationship is that with the Cocoa tree. Its savory fruit is eaten and the seeds are sold for the making of chocolate, then the bark is peeled and beaten to create the loincloth for men to dress. The ingenuity of harnessing nature is exemplified beautifully in these people’s organized and waste-less use of their sustenance.

As time progressed and the children witnessed our growing friendship with their elders, they began to warm up their smiles and open our hearts with the joy of their playful laughter and songs. They taught us one song that particularly left a strong impression: Redemennu Mentawai (Remember Mentawai), and we hope they too will have fond memories of us as they grow. The little girls joined as we took part in traditional fishing with Mama and gladly led us to the hidden spots they know so well. The boys marveled at the camera and blew us away with their skilled involvement in traditional dance and pig slaughter. One baby, Alamata, blessed our eyes with a breathtaking scene of him bathing in the river. We grasped the opportunity to capture the pure innocence he embodied for that moment in time.

To create a captivating conclusion to our stay, the Shamans treated us with the performance of a dance ceremony. Fourteen different songs were chanted in praise of varying creatures of the jungle ranging from the Monkey, to the Snake, the Butterfly, and the Eagle. The beats of the drums were entrancing and their magical music played the tune of balanced bliss. We are eternally grateful for their embrace of us in their home and this sneak peak into their worldview.

And so, as time unwinds, we prepare to say our goodbyes to the Indah (beautiful) Indonesia and extend our warmest terima kasih’s to its humble and helpful people. We have learned so much in our precious five weeks in this enchanting place. We hope to produce a piece that truly reflects the wonder of unity in this diverse and rich corner of the world-insha’allah.

Terima Kasih for your support for us here in Indonesia!

Onward and Upward,

Apo Calypso Productions

The Land Before Time

So as not to wait idly on our one-day layover in Benjarmasin, we took a canal ride through its ancient waterways that transformed into an unexpected experience of intimate cultural immersion. It was late afternoon and the floating houses on the river were open and flooding out their residents, all engaging in an age-old tradition of bathing in their main source of survival. People of all ages simultaneously participated in this cleansing ritual-mothers were washing their infants, old women were doing the laundry, men could be seen lathering the soap on their skin, little girls brushed their teeth and little boys flung themselves in the murky waters-splashing and screaming in joy of their chance to swim! It was a time shared and celebrated by everyone as the conclusion of the day. The winding down of the sun’s last rays mixed with the aroma of fish wrapped in banana leaf charbroiled for dinner ushered in the beginning of the night. To our own amazement, we were not made to feel like intruders but rather received enthusiastic waves from the children, some even swimming to the canoe to give us high fives. Elders extended warm invitations for us to eat of their little food and we felt welcomed in these people’s prized moments. This offered us a precious glimpse into the lifestyle of the average Indonesian and showcased the rich relationship of appreciation with the waters of the river.

From weaving through the canals in the canoe, to winding down the arteries of the Sungai Kumai in a kloklit (house boat), we bled into our destination at the heart of Borneo’s rainforest in Tan Jang Putting National Park. The air smelled of the dewy greenery, clean and fresh, and the sounds of birds at dawn and bugs in the evening were a narrative song to the cycle of the day. We encountered many animals such as the Probiscous and Gibbon monkeys, Hornbill and Kingfisher birds, wild boar and many more, however the most enchanting interactions were those with the rare and unique Orangutans. Camp Leeky, an Orangutan rehabilitation center that has been in the park since 1971, has been the largest and longest lasting observation of the species. Its existence has enabled the survival and preservation of these endangered primates, and with this in mind we gained a great appreciation for the opportunity to engage with them. We met many Orangutans, ranging from Siswe the sweet grandmother with a lazy demeanor and playful spirit, to Princess the mother and enthusiastic learner of human skills such as sign language and rowing and her sweet children Percy and Putry. The most intimidating and exciting of all however was meeting Tom-the King, with his gigantic body and commanding presence. It was a true blessing to have even spotted Tom, as he is known to never make an appearance and to deeply dislike humans. In spite of this, it is said by the park rangers that Javid was the human being to get closest to Tom-with a mere three meters between them! Face to face while filming this majestic ruler of the forest, an affirming exchange took place, a mutual recognition of the similarities that transcend the boundaries of human or animal.

Being engulfed by the intensely vivid rainforest, one can’t help but feel overwhelmed by its beauty and vibrant life. The harmony by which it survives, with each form of being interconnected with all the others is quite captivating, In moments of awe at its magical energy, it is possible to feel the whole forest breathe with you. It is the land before time, immanating the spirits of the past and calling out to those in the future. To contribute to that future with our own bare hands, we planted two trees at a forest rehabilitation area- one Mahogany and one Sandalwood. This was the least we could do to pay homage to a place that truly brought our wildest fairytale imagining to life.

On our way, as we were heading out of the rainforest, we stumbled across a deserted Dayak village. Here we were able to observe the remaining symbols of a traditional tribal culture, such as gravestones carved in the image of the deceased and housing with the sign of the hornbill adorning its roof. These images spoke of an eery past life which has slipped away as the forest shrinks in size.

Separation from Borneo was no easy task, as the love we felt for the forest and its inhabitants was deeply rooted. However, we have our sights set onto the next adventure-the meeting and relationship building with the Mentawai tribe. By arranging an insider to translate, we have received confirmation that we will be exposed to the very raw lifestyle and traditions of these people. Our approach is to extend a formal invitation to the 2010 International Indigenous Gathering to be held in Lillooet, British Colombia. By living in a family abode of the clan, we hope to truly immerse ourselves in their worldview and facilitate a genuine understanding. For this we are preparing to embark on a long boat journey followed by a trek into the deep untouched bush of Siberut Island, off the west coast of Sumatra. We hope this challenging road will lead us to a unique and fantastic experience-Insha’allah.

Terima Kasih for your ongoing support for us here in Indonesia!

Onward and Upward,

Apo Calypso Productions