Picture for a moment tropical paradise: white sand beaches, sparkling blue ocean, and palm trees arching out over the breaking waves. That’s where I just spent ten days. The island of Maratua is located just off the coast of the Berau region in East Kalimantan.
Maratua Island... right out of a storybook
Not only a terrestrial paradise, it is located in the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse region of the world’s oceans. It was here that I had my first snorkeling experience and I was completely blown away. Bright green fish with hot pink and maroon accents, electric blue fish, intricately patterned box-shaped fish, clownfish swimming amongst the tentacles of anemones, cobalt blue clams and fish like white sails all against a backdrop of corals so wild and brilliant they seemed almost animated. I was shocked by how little imagination went into “Finding Nemo.” It’s completely impossible to describe, and was easily one of the best experiences of my life – a real tribute to the sheer volume of different species on our planet.
children of Bohesilian
On Maratua we lived in homestays in two different villages. While we had stayed with Indonesian families before, both in Wehea and Lesan forests, it was on the island that I really came to appreciate the simplicity of the homes, especially the bathrooms. The squat toilets, originally so awkward and uncomfortable, have become our favorite commode design. Bucket showers after a run on the beach or a snorkel in the buoyantly salty ocean are quite possibly the most refreshing activity I’ve had the good fortune to experience. Scientists and environmentalists claim we can reduce our energy consumption and simultaneously maintain or improve our quality of life. Call me crazy, but rural Indonesian bathrooms seem the perfect example.
Caleb and Shandel enjoy snorkeling at the stingless jellyfish lake on the nearby Kakaban Island
Of course, I didn’t spend all my time snorkeling and enjoying bucket showers. We also continued to read from our Amazon Kindles and on the island finished the last two chapters of Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest. The chapter titled Immunity was particularly interesting. Blessed Unrest is about “the movement” – all of the people fighting against the environmental and social injustices of the world. Immunity calls this movement a global immune response to the diseases of greed, inequality, and irresponsibility currently ravaging our world. Hawken explains that just as the human immune system is a complex combination of hormones, antibodies, nervous reactions, etc., the global immune system is comprised of a system of many kinds of NGOs, individuals, businesses, and governments. Both systems are strengthened by diversity and complexity. Science is beginning to recognize that the best way to boost the human immune system is to improve connectivity between these various elements of the system – Hawkin argues that this is the most effective strategy for boosting the global immune system as well.
Our time on Maratua was the proverbial calm before the storm. Having arrived back in Tanjung Redeb, we have three days to edit our final documentaries and type up final reports for our NGO projects. It’s going to be a tough 36 hours – wish me luck!
Jill Carlile grew up in Juneau, Alaska. She enjoys the ocean, the mountains, rain, and winter, and is interested in minimizing our negative impacts on each of these, as well as all other natural places and systems. Jill attends Quest University in British Columbia and is currently in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo with an educational NGO called Ethical Expeditions. Along with seventeen other Quest students, she hopes to learn more about the various forces that threaten to completely deforest this island over the course of the two-month program.
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RYSE is the youth branch of RAN, Rainforest Action Network, which works to protect the Earth and support human rights through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.
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Another BLOG with punch! Thanks! I like the emphasis on simplicity actually improving the quality of life. I appreciate your acquainting me with Hawken’s work. I will read more. I like the analogy to the immune system. It helps me realize that even seemingly small efforts – taken together with all the other small efforts – help stave off, and reverse, environmental decline.
[...] on the blue half of the planet, both academically (in our readings and classes) and experientially (on the island of Maratua). Before our arrival on the island, we watched Sylvia Earle’s TED talk, where she explains the [...]