This content originated on RarePlanet, our online community inspiring conservation. It was written by Eddy Santoso and translated by Galuh Sekar Arum.

One of the keys to success of campaign is the work we establish with volunteers. They help spread the mission of a campaign and help keep it going, even after its initial period is over.

Four volunteers with BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation – a big NGO in Indonesia), volunteered on the agroforestry demonstration plot in Tempayung Village in Borneo, Indonesia. This is a Pride campaign target site. The volunteers were Tommy from Indonesia, Claire from Australia, Dale from USA and Elliot dari Inggris (UK). They worked with their coordinator, Harry from OFUK (Orangutan Foundation UK).

Yayorin’s Rare Pride campaign is working to protect forest habitat of the Bornean Orangutan by motivating farmers to adopt agroforestry systems in order to reduce deforestation due to agricultural practices. The campaign will be used to increase people’s understanding in the target villages about the forest’s functions, including carbon sequestration. The campaign will also introduce permanent agriculture systems to people (from two villages) who encroach into the reserve and the forest areas.

For a week, they helped build a fish pond, composted, built a water tank, processed the soil, and planted vegetables and local fruit trees into polibags. Beyond this group of volunteers, local youth, calling themselves Green Organization, and school teachers conducted a tree planting event together with the Pride campaign implementation team and mobile education team funded by the European Commission (EC) from Yayorin. These activities built awareness and helped preserve the Sungai Lamandau Wildlife Reserves.

Every event was always supported by local government agencies, e.g. Environmental Agency Forestry and Plantation Agency, and BPP of Sukamara District.

Pride alumnus Eddy Santoso was touched by the students and community who volunteered and committed time and effort to the campaign. He hopes to “infect” his capacity to campaign and be a sounding voice for the environment to others.