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Two years ago I made my first journey to the small village of Tangkahan in North Sumatra which is nestled at the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park. One of the last remaining areas where wild orangutans, tigers and elephants still survive.
It was a life changing experience for me.
Not only was I welcomed by the most incredible community but also learned so much about palm oil and the conflict between villagers and the wild animals whose natural habitat is continuously shrinking due to deforestation.
The elephants of Tangkahan are refugees of this shrinking habitat but unlike most others they did not end up being killed or sent to government run training centres. They became part of the Conservation Response Unit (CRU), which is designed to give these captive elephants a better life and to protect the habitat still available to their wild counterparts.
To support the CRU a group of dedicated people founded The Tangkahan Effect (TTE) and together they raise continuous funds to support the community and improve the life of these captive elephants. I am very lucky to call the people running TTE my friends now and could not think of a better group to support.
https://www.facebook.com/TheTangkahanEffect
In June 2016 I returned to Tangkahan to see some of the big improvements that were made to the enclosure. An electric fence and sun shades were installed allowing the elephants to roam around freely most of the time and have a shaded area. I also met the 3 cute new babies that were born during the last 12 months.
Providing nutritious food is very expensive, approximately $100 per feed. TTE’s latest challenge is to secure a parcel of land and turn it into a vegetable garden for the CRU. This will ensure supply of some of the elephant’s most popular fruits and vegetables as well as give full time employment to 2 local staff.
Why am I telling you all this?
In March 2016, I was standing in front of Mount Kinabalu in the Bornean state of Sabah. At 4096m it’s the highest peak in Malaysia and a popular tourist attraction. I clearly remember looking at this majestic mountain thinking that I would never want to attempt this climb as hours of continuous uphill trekking would most definitely be extremely difficult for me.
4 months later I find myself in preparation for the climb on the 27th September 2016.
I decided to take up the challenge because I want to continue to set myself physical and mental challenges wherever I travel. As the last remaining elephants in both Sumatra and Borneo face the same problems of habitat loss due to the ever expanding palm oil industry, I felt that my personal challenge would be a good way of raising much needed funds for TTE and I hope that anyone who can will chip in a few dollars which collectively will make a huge difference.
REACHING THE SUMMIT, ONE STOMP AT A TIME!
It was a life changing experience for me.
Not only was I welcomed by the most incredible community but also learned so much about palm oil and the conflict between villagers and the wild animals whose natural habitat is continuously shrinking due to deforestation.
The elephants of Tangkahan are refugees of this shrinking habitat but unlike most others they did not end up being killed or sent to government run training centres. They became part of the Conservation Response Unit (CRU), which is designed to give these captive elephants a better life and to protect the habitat still available to their wild counterparts.
To support the CRU a group of dedicated people founded The Tangkahan Effect (TTE) and together they raise continuous funds to support the community and improve the life of these captive elephants. I am very lucky to call the people running TTE my friends now and could not think of a better group to support.
https://www.facebook.com/TheTangkahanEffect
In June 2016 I returned to Tangkahan to see some of the big improvements that were made to the enclosure. An electric fence and sun shades were installed allowing the elephants to roam around freely most of the time and have a shaded area. I also met the 3 cute new babies that were born during the last 12 months.
Providing nutritious food is very expensive, approximately $100 per feed. TTE’s latest challenge is to secure a parcel of land and turn it into a vegetable garden for the CRU. This will ensure supply of some of the elephant’s most popular fruits and vegetables as well as give full time employment to 2 local staff.
Why am I telling you all this?
In March 2016, I was standing in front of Mount Kinabalu in the Bornean state of Sabah. At 4096m it’s the highest peak in Malaysia and a popular tourist attraction. I clearly remember looking at this majestic mountain thinking that I would never want to attempt this climb as hours of continuous uphill trekking would most definitely be extremely difficult for me.
4 months later I find myself in preparation for the climb on the 27th September 2016.
I decided to take up the challenge because I want to continue to set myself physical and mental challenges wherever I travel. As the last remaining elephants in both Sumatra and Borneo face the same problems of habitat loss due to the ever expanding palm oil industry, I felt that my personal challenge would be a good way of raising much needed funds for TTE and I hope that anyone who can will chip in a few dollars which collectively will make a huge difference.
REACHING THE SUMMIT, ONE STOMP AT A TIME!