Help Communities in Borneo Protect their Heritage

As reported by Patricia John and Jenny Sanem, edited by Marina Aman Sham.

With the intention to revive traditional handicraft making in the Buayan-Kionop area, Patricia John and Jenny Sanem included it in their plan to interview experienced members of their community. In June, they conducted interviews with En. Sabatin Logunsing from Tiku – Buayan village and Puan Binjani Gorumpang from Buayan, with the key objective to collate a list of the types of traditional handicraft that are made using natural resources found in the area. As expressed by Patricia and Jenny, conducting interviews was a suitable method to use because it allowed them to interact freely with the interviewees, without any interruptions. Through the interviews, they learned about the various types of handicraft of the Buayan-Kionop area. Unfortunately, as they found out, not all of these crafts are still being used in their community.

En. Sabatin and Puan Binjani were very helpful and agreed to become trainers to teach the younger generation as well as any adults who may be interested in learning how to make the traditional handicraft found in Buayan. The interviews proved to be fruitful. Not only were Patricia and Jenny able to list down the types of handicrafts made, they also included the ‘ingredients’ (raw materials) used to make each one.

En. Sabatin Logunsing and Puan Binjani Gorumpang described 17 traditional products each, all made from resources found in the forests. These products consisted of equipment used in homes on a daily basis, fishing equipment, hunting equipment, musical instruments and traditional games. After a quick comparison, it was discovered that the total number of items listed was 27.

Two more community members have been identified as trainers – En. Joiwit Sabandok dan En. Peter Lasa. Once all interviews have been completed, plans will move ahead to conduct the training workshop.