In the evening before dinner, Rongos, the headman's nephew took four of us to the "nearby" stream to bathe ourselves. Thinking it would be near enough, we just wore our slippers and shorts. We ended up walking for about 20 minutes, getting our ankles lashed by lalang and other low vegetation on the poorly cleared path. Mosquitoes were swarming around too as we had not applied repellent. After a fairly uncomfortable trek, we finally came across a mini bamboo bridge which traversed a bubbling stream. We diverted from the path and clambered down on to the rocky sides of the stream.
It took us a while to warm up to the stream - while we squatted by the side, meekly dipping our arms into the water, Rongos had sank the entirety of himself into the stream and emerged looking at us curiously. He laughed and told us we should really get into the water rather than mandi burung - having a birdbath. It took us a while but we finally did get in.
Rongos told us about his life in the kampung. He earns some money by growing vegetables and selling them to market sellers. This involves getting up at 2a.m. to harvest the produce from his farm and carry them down to the dam site in the dark. It doesn't earn him very much but is more than enough to support his family. He went on to tell us about hunting trips in the jungle, how they would hunt down wild boars by stalking it quietly from downwind, how with rain or nightfall approaching, he would build a makeshift shelter in less than an hour to withstand the elements.
The main thing I took note of, though, is the trick to avoiding leech bites (I hate those bloodsuckers): tobacco leaves, crushed and mixed well with water in a small bottle. The resulting solution is rubbed into socks and shoes for a leech-proofing better than any commercial repellent can afford!
It was a nice experience just relaxing by the stream, listening to the sounds coming from nature around us and chatting about life with Rongos. When it came to the topic of land issues, Rongos expressed a strong determination to fight the case along with his fellow villagers to defend their land. It's much easier for us city people to uproot and move to another city or even another country. But for them, it's more than just the land they're defending: it's the land of their ancestors and the land of their grandchildren, it's their way of life, culture and skills - all of which need to be preserved.
It took us a while to warm up to the stream - while we squatted by the side, meekly dipping our arms into the water, Rongos had sank the entirety of himself into the stream and emerged looking at us curiously. He laughed and told us we should really get into the water rather than mandi burung - having a birdbath. It took us a while but we finally did get in.
Rongos told us about his life in the kampung. He earns some money by growing vegetables and selling them to market sellers. This involves getting up at 2a.m. to harvest the produce from his farm and carry them down to the dam site in the dark. It doesn't earn him very much but is more than enough to support his family. He went on to tell us about hunting trips in the jungle, how they would hunt down wild boars by stalking it quietly from downwind, how with rain or nightfall approaching, he would build a makeshift shelter in less than an hour to withstand the elements.
The main thing I took note of, though, is the trick to avoiding leech bites (I hate those bloodsuckers): tobacco leaves, crushed and mixed well with water in a small bottle. The resulting solution is rubbed into socks and shoes for a leech-proofing better than any commercial repellent can afford!
It was a nice experience just relaxing by the stream, listening to the sounds coming from nature around us and chatting about life with Rongos. When it came to the topic of land issues, Rongos expressed a strong determination to fight the case along with his fellow villagers to defend their land. It's much easier for us city people to uproot and move to another city or even another country. But for them, it's more than just the land they're defending: it's the land of their ancestors and the land of their grandchildren, it's their way of life, culture and skills - all of which need to be preserved.
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