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Feature Story
Employee Spotlight: One Family's Shared Passion for Orangutans (and Sun Bears)!
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News from the Field
OFI's New Herbarium Nursery
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Orangutan of the Month
Radiant Ray
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"To look at Ray is to look at a vision of tranquility. He radiates serenity in the midst of the seemingly frenzied orangutan infant playground at OFI's Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine in Pasir Panjang, Kalimantan. . . . Yet, with his gentle and reflective personality, Ray can still be surprisingly cheeky too."
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InfiniteEARTH,
the parent company of
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve
has pledged to match up to $100,000 in donations to OFI over the next six months.
Since the campaign launched in May we have raised
$12,752! We're getting closer to our goal, but we still need your help.
Click the link below to donate today and help us reach $100,000!
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Now you can experience the forests of Borneo and meet orangutans in the wild, all from aboard an ultra-luxury cruise ship AND help OFI's work to save orangutans at the same time!
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Orangutans need you
Thank you for being a reader of OFI's
Eyes on the Forest newsletter
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You can find out more about OFI & our work at our website,
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 "One of the most critical elements in developing lasting conservation is community involvement. We can't strive to save orangutans and the forests of Borneo without the participation and committment of local people. Most of the OFI staff are residents of the village of Pasir Panjang, where the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) is situated. Pasir Panjang is a Dayak village, whose residents are people native to the island of Borneo. OFI is proud to employ local native families, and there is a proud tradition in these families of serving as the core staff of OFI. In fact, there is barely an indigenous family in Pasir Panjang that does not have at least one family member who works or has worked for OFI!
 Because it is a small community, all the native people in Pasir Panjang seem to be related in some way. However, it can often be quite confusing to work out even the most obvious family relations. Volunteers who stay for many months will find themselves consistently surprised at the seemingly never-ending reveals of sibling connections, marital ties, and other links along the OFI family tree! Yet one network that stands out is a local family that has three generations currently working for OFI. In a way, this family beautifully represents the past, present, and future of OFI, highlighting just how interwoven this organization is into the fabric of Pasir Panjang. 
Ibu Rais, Ibu Lupi, and Pak Kris are three family members who represent three generations of dedication to OFI and the orangutans. This family's employment history signifies an inter-generational network of community development, so crucial in the continuance of OFI's work with orangutans and forests. There is something special in a multi-generational household working together for the same cause.
 Ibu Rais, matriach of the family, is mother to Ibu Lupi and grandmother to Pak Kris. Ibu Rais has worked for OFI for many years and is proud to see her children and grandchildren now working for OFI as well. Rais is an energetic cheerful woman, always waving and smiling. Many of the former construction volunteers need no introduction to Ibu Rais as she is often the cook for the construction teams. All of the volunteers return from their field sites with stories of her delicious food and witty humor. When not assisting with the volunteer construction teams, Ibu Rais is one of the cooks at the OCCQ and assists with feeding the juvenile orangutans at a facility called Pondok Medang. Ibu Rais also loves to visit the infant orangutans on occasion and reminisces about the days when she used to work with the infants. The joy she has for the infants is plain to see on Ibu Rais' face as she interacts with them. Humans and orangutans alike love Ibu Rais' easy, joyful demeanor. . ." |
 "Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) is preparing to launch one of our most ambitious projects yet. We have taken on the enormous task of reforesting the areas of the Orangutan Legacy Forest that were lost in the devastating fires of 2015. One of the key components of the project, is the sourcing and nurturing of seedlings to be planted at the reforestation site. You may remember this from our Emergency Appeal that was sent out recently in which we asked for your help so we wouldn't lose a moment in getting started.
The seeds and seedlings that we have been collecting will need time to grow and mature under the watchful eyes of the dedicated reforestation team. To start with, a temporary nursery was set up at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility for the first seedlings.
 In the long run, however, several larger sites that are capable of accommodating tens of thousands of seedlings each year, will be needed. Fortunately, just down the road from the OCCQ is the OFI Herbarium and behind the herbarium is an area of land the perfect size for a large scale permanent nursery. Construction began on the new nursery a few months ago and OFI is thrilled to announce the final construction has been completed. This new Herbarium Nursery, which will be the first of several, is now up and running. . ."
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2016 is the 30th Anniversary of Orangutan Foundation International
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Help us count down to
Orangutan Awareness Week (OAW) in November when we will celebrate our Anniversary.
Have an idea for OAW, want to get involved with the celebration?
Sign up now!
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