The Association and thle Rehabilitation Project 

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 Presentation  

Kalaweit is french non-profit organization (under law 1901), but also a project born in Indonesia in 1999, to help captive gibbons in Indonesia . Young gibbons are frequently sold as pets in Indonesia, but when the gibbons become mature (around 7 years old), they become aggressive and people kill them… For each baby gibbon on the market, one family had been killed by poachers. Gibbons and orangutans are in danger of extinction in Indonesia . Before Kalaweit, no project was trying to help and rehabilitate gibbons in Borneo and Sumatra . The goal is to send them back into the wild. To do that, Kalaweit have a global approach including habitat protection (reserve, fight against deforestation) and awareness of local people to include them in the gibbon conservation project. Kalaweit manage 2 centers (in Borneo and Sumatra ), 300 gibbons and siamangs, 50 staffs (including vets and paramedics). Kalaweit also manage a school (SD Alam lestari) who can receive 30 children in Borneo . Kalaweit also give the opportunity to people interested by the project to follow a gibbon during his progress, in our Adoption Program, and Kalaweit received also volunteers who want to feel an experience at Kalaweit Borneo.

I leave France to Indonesia at 18 years old, with the only dream to meet my gibbon friends in the wild… I didn't know what kind of adventure was waiting me.

Since I arrive in Borneo , I started to understand that all my children dreams will never become true. The jungle of my dreams was daily cut down… The virgin forest was gone, and my gibbon friends was captured, killed or sold… With the dayaks (tribes of Borneo ) I started to imagine a fight to save the Indonesian biodiversity, including gibbons as ambassadors, for and with the local communities. Slowly, we (me and my team) got experiences… Every day we learned to save lives... We tried to give hope to all the eyes victims from human stupidity Slowly, Kalaweit becomes bigger and bigger…

Today Kalaweit is the biggest gibbon rehabilitation program in the world. Around of 300 gibbons and siamangs (Borneo and Sumatra ) are at Kalaweit now and we got one of the lowest mortality. This look likes a victory, but in fact all these gibbons show us our failure… The forest is still cut down and every where gibbons are still killed and abused… If tomorrow, Kalaweit don't receive any new gibbon, I will be happy. With times, villagers become partners of Kalaweit. This project is now a large humanitarian campaign where more of 1.000 families received medical and education attention from Kalaweit. Entire villages become ambassadors for Kalaweit but also for our vision of respect of life.

Kalaweit still have a lot to do.., and the challenge is even harder now, with all financial difficulties… We are still fighting, with heart full of fear…. Kalaweit is scared to become only a witness of the gibbon extinction… We are scared to reach the point where we will have no more release site to send back gibbons to the wild… Kalaweit fight to save lives, all lives, against big financial interests… I'm mad against all the timber companies (and palm oil companies), who destroy the forest to sell wood or oil to the West…

With or without Kalaweit, gibbons have no future without the forest. Thousand of hectares are safe because of the support of the Kalaweit friends and also because of the motivation of our team. But it's still nothing compared to all the palm trees plantations and timber concessions… Gibbons need the forest, the Punan in Borneo and the Kubu (orang rimba) also depend on her…

If human learn one day to love life, all lives, Kalaweit will not have to fight anymore…

Chanee (march 2005)

Condition of detention at a private individual (Photo - Wandi - Kalaweit)

Rehabilitation is not simply a reintroduction… Rehabilitation means a long training process, to make sure animals can survive after the release. They have to learn how to find food, move, live in couple and protect a territory, etc). This progress takes several years. An animal in good health, will have the chance to be one day released. But an animal infected by human disease will live forever at Kalaweit (in social structure) Steps : Arrival / Collaboration with the ministry of forestry Quaratines / Medical tests : Hepatities A, B, C, Tuberculosis, Herpes Simplex 1and 2 Taxonomy identification Socialisation - In group (non-mature) - In pair (mature) Matting observation (coupling) Quaratines / Medical tests : Hepatities A, B, C, Tuberculosis, Herpes Simplex 1and 2 Released folowing the IUCN guidelines

The Kalaweit Radio had been created in 2003 to inform local people about ecological issues and conservation of endangered species as gibbons. Almost 40,000 listeners stay tune on Kalaweit every single day with a audience of 15 to 25 years old. The airplay is composed of Music and entertainment to keep a high audience, but every hour we broadcast 5 messages of one minute about global environment issue and animal welfare. 22 versions of these messages, called “intermezzo”, are broadcasted on 24 hours. Today almost 60 % of the animals received at Kalaweit Borneo come from the listeners of the radio station. More than just received gibbons, listeners help us to rescue other animals as pythons, civets, slow loris, proboscis monkeys, etc

© - C. Ruoso - BIOS

© - C. Ruoso - BIOS