NURAGA BHUMI INSTITUTE

Conservation is my birthright. I have arrived here after such a long process of decolonizing, reclaiming power and generating action. I used to feel powerless and had major impostor syndrome working in conservation. Now I am starting my own organization to support Indigenous women and members of the LGBT+ community to engage in conservation safely. In addition, I’ve become a storyteller and photographer in my own right. It’s a dream come true. See below for some of my images detailing what I’m passionate about.

This mission and vision for creating the Nuraga Bhumi Institute. One of my key milestones has been collaborating with my mentor, Dani Khan Da Silva, on a Nat Geo grant she received to do a story about me. This project also brings me the possibility to provide and support other Indigenous women to be able to work in conservation. This Nat Geo opportunity will support my Sumatran Indigenous women program next year and I just can't believe that it is real until now. While waiting for the project happens to be real, my organization starts education program through story books publication entitled "Tala & Satya: Introduction to Leuser Forest tree" as a tool to raise awareness and educate children and adult about Leuser ecosystem. Other than that, we do have "Caring for the Earth Class" which is an inclusive meeting, discussion, and workshop about environmental and climate change issues for indigenous women and LGBQ that are considered to be marginalized in this movement. Through all of this program, I hope that this organization is a way to decolonize and reclaim the role of Indigenous people in Sumatran conservation.

Sumatran Indigenous as the front liners Leuser forest protectors. This is very important as ways to reclaim my self as Indigenous women who works in conservation but often to be considered to be less than men. I arrived here since my connection to Photographers Without Borders, which is also founded and run by my mentor Dani that has shown me how to grow outside of the society construct by decolonizing, finding and reclaiming myself. I finally see how conservation can be very destructive rather than conserve as it is supposed to be because of the colonized system. I finally understand how Indigenous people forced to live in oppression and disconnection that needs to be addressed. All of this challenge lead me to the initiative to start the Nuraga Bhumi Institute aiming to provide safe space for Indigenous women who would like to work in conservation. My organization works with Nature for Change (NFC), the local community based organization in Bukit Lawang. For me, they are the every day conservationist that dedicating themselves to protect, conserve, restore the buffer-zone as human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Thus, I would like to walk on the same path as them to give my contribution as human to mother of earth.