Malagufuk Ecotourism Development
Vanuit het ecotoeristisch netwerk willen we duurzaam toerisme in de Klasow vallei, gelegen in de Vogelkop van West-Papoea, bevorderen door natuurbescherming, toerisme en werkgelegenheid aan elkaar te koppelen bij de opbouw van het nieuwe dorp Malagufuk.
Aangezien het initiatief afkomstig is van onze ecotoeristische partner terplekke, is de projectbeschrijving in het Engels.
Projectbeschrijving
Project description
The village of Malagufuk is located in Klasow Valley near the Tambrauw Mountains of the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua. From Sorong is one hour drive and then one hour walk. The village exists actually only relatively briefly in the current form. In ancient times the locals were attracted build a life at the coast to be near churches and schools. Since about a two years, the children of then (and so the elderly from now) decided to go back to their roots and start a new village. Important reason for their return to the interior, is the fact that there are plans for a large palm oil plantation in the area. People are afraid that their original living environment will suffer the same fate. Till now the facilities in Malagufuk are very limited and the main need now is developing sustainable facilities and generating income. Last year a ‘clean water facility’ was build. To generate income they will focus on eco-tourism. Last year, the village already hosted several travelers. Now they have a plan to build a traditional guesthouse. They also need inventory and some basic supplies they can use while guiding tourists.
About the program
Development of a new village in the jungle
The village of Malagufuk is located in Klasow Valley near the Tambrauw Mountains of the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua. From Sorong is one hour drive and then one hour walk. The village exists actually only relatively briefly in the current form. In ancient times the locals were attracted build a life at the coast to be near churches and schools. Since about a two years, the children of then (and so the elderly from now) decided to go back to their roots and start a new village. Important reason for their return to the interior, is the fact that there are plans for a large palm oil plantation in the area. People are afraid that their original living environment will suffer the same fate.
Till now the facilities in Malagufuk are very limited and the main need now is developing sustainable facilities and generating income. Last year a ‘clean water facility’ was build. To generate income they will focus on eco-tourism. Last year, the village already hosted several travelers. Now they have a plan to build a traditional guesthouse. They also need inventory and some basic supplies they can use while guiding tourists.
Jobs and involvement of local people in ecotourism
The creation of jobs for local people is the priority of this ecotourism project. Since the introduction of ecotourism in Klasowvalley and other areas in West Papua local people to play active roles in serving tourists. They work in turn as:
- Local guides in the jungle to show interesting birding/ wildlife watching sites or the medicinal merit of certain plants;
- Porters who carry food, bags, camera equipment and other logistical goods of the visitors;
Mothers and girls who work as cooks; - Drivers of 4WD car;
- Papuan mothers and girls selling food, vegetables, fruits and cultural souvenirs in traditional markets .
Construction of a traditional guesthouse
Tourists who visit Malagufuk village stay in a small wooden hut built by the local people for a Protestant priest. The villagers do not have a separate guesthouse or a wooden bungalow for tourists. The design of the new guesthouse will be similar to the traditional house for the priest but the quality and workmanship of the house will be improved and be more artistic.
Financial needs
€ 700 : Construction of new guesthouse
€ 140 : Inventory goods like sponge mattresses, pillows, mosquito nets, knives, cutleries etc.
€ 140 : Transportation of materials by 4WD car Sorong – Klasow Valley
€ 140 : Spotting scope for bird watching
€ 70 : Large plastic tarpaulin as camping tents
Total costs € 1190
Why West Papua?
The interior of West Papua forms with their ca. 40 million acres of rain forest is one of the last green lungs of our planet (next to the Amazon and the Congo rainforests) and features an unparalleled biodiversity. The island is very rich in natural ingredients, such as gas, oil, copper, and gold. The area is under heavy pressure from the global economy. The original inhabitants are suddenly faced commercial exploration activities and see their original habitat rapidly disappear.
Why Klasow valley?
Klasow Valley is a huge rainforest area located in the east of Sorong regency and has a great biodiversity.
Plants
The tropical rainforest that covers the valley is the natural habitat of a lot of plants including giant pandanustree, strangler ficustree, iron-wood tree, sago tree and etc.
Birds
Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaeaminor), Twelve-wired Paradise Birds, Golden Myna (Mino anais), Eclectusparrot (Eclectusrotatus), Cassowary etc.
Reptiles
Crocodiles, Papuan Monitor Lizard, snakes, and etc.
Marsupial and Mammals
Wallaby, Deer (Cervustimorensis), Wild Pigs
Insects
Ornithopterapriamus butterfly
Meadow argus butterfly
Taenariscatops butterfly
Vindulaarsinoe butterfly
Partners
SDSP supports sustainable and small scale fair tourism in West Papua together with our partners in the ‘Community Based Ecotourism Network’ Papua-travel.com.
Our partner Charles Roring is the promotor of development of ecotourism in the new village of Malagufuk. He hopes this ecotourism initiative in Klasowvalley of Sorong regency will support local people in protecting their land for the current and future generations of Papuan people. Charles also writes several blogs to promote eco-tourism and share his experiences travelling through beautiful West Papua.
Absalom Kalami (the former project leader of the clean water installation) will be the local project leader for the construction of the guesthouse.
Support
You can directly donate this project by donating to this project on PIF World crowdfundingplatform.
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Community Based Conservation
Het project ‘Community Based Conservation Arfak’ hanteert een integrale aanpak waarbij lokale initiatieven voor alternatieve bronnen van inkomsten, zoals ecotoerisme, ontstaan.
Guesthouse Warmarway – 4
In januari kregen we via onze lokale contactpersoon Charles Roring weer een update over de voortgang van de bouw van het guesthouse in Warmarway. Inmiddels liggen de golfplaten op de dakconstructie en is men met man en macht aan het werk.
Guesthouse Warmarway – 3
Afgelopen maand hebben Yunus Sayori en verschillende bewoners van het dorp Warmarway de fundering voor het guesthouse gelegd. Momenteel zijn ze bezig met het op maat zagen van de planken en de steunpilaren voor het guesthouse.
Warmarway, Indibo and Kebar
Since my last blog post four weeks ago it had been a very busy time again and Europe seemed to be far away. Not only because of the around 12.600 km distance between Germany and West Papua, but also because the internet connection was not (or very slow) working for about a month.
Guesthouse Warmarway – 2
Deze week werden de benodigde materialen voor het guesthouse geleverd. Alle materialen zijn nu aanwezig om met de bouw te kunnen beginnen. Komende week start de lokale bevolking – onder aansturing van Yunus Sayori en met hulp van extra mankrachten – aan de bouw.
Guesthouse Warmarway – 1
Via onze lokale contacten kwam de vraag om ondersteuning bij het bouwen en inrichten van een logement in Warmarway bij ons binnen. Het betreft een vraag uit de gemeenschap zelf waarbij het gaat om hulp bij het financieren van bouwvakkers / mankracht en bij de aanschaf van bedden, matrassen, kook- en eetgerei, tafels en stoelen.
