SUNDAY, JULY 15, 2012 AT 05:38PM
When rainforests continue to be destroyed at an alarming rate in Borneo and helpless animals such as orangutans suffer in silence, one band has decided not to hold its peace. Navicula, instead, is about to voice its objections loud and clear in its upcoming tour in Kalimantan, reports Kayti Denham.
Bali, 1 July, 2012. “The rainforest is the lungs of our planet, and the reason we are going there is to bring media attention to this urgent situation. People far away, even people close by don’t recognize what the planet is about to lose.”
Navicula tours in Kalimantan with a message to save what's left of Borneo rainforest.
Strong words from Navicula frontman, Robi, who speaks of an unashamed agenda to bring immediate awareness of the destruction of the planet's last rainforests to the attention of the local and international media by heading to Borneo with Navicula to perform for free in local schools and at community events. Navicula is a band based in Bali, Indonesia.
Being one of Indonesia’s most loved and respected bands, Navicula's inspiring plan will draw much in the way of media interest. After all Borneo is not a regular venue on a touring band's itinerary.
Having released their single “Orangutan” through a creative commons license that allowed free downloads for their fans, the band received many requests to perform all over Indonesia, but felt, justifiably, that the place that needed their attention was the rainforest of Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo.
The band linked their release to the movie Green, which, if you have yet to see it, details through documentary footage and montage the horrendous situation that is occurring in Borneo today along with the reasons why.
Aside from showing the horrific disregard of the area’s indigenous orangutans, and the rampant growth of palm oil plantations Green the Movie cleverly lets the viewer see what has driven the market forces to eat up our vital resources. And the realization that it is not just the plantation owners, the governments, the farmers or the people in a rainforest far away that are responsible for the slow and agonizing death of the orangutan, its habitat and the rainforests, it is each and everyone of us.
“Borneo is the last remaining rainforest on the planet and we cannot stand by and let it be taken from us”, says Noni.
With this agenda in mind the band has launched a “Kickstarter” campaign to fund their tour, they have invested their own incomes, and much of their time in developing the concept for the performances and have a full media crew ready to go the moment they confirm their dates.
The band will be playing in North Sumatra in July, in the capital Medan, at a concert event that includes Indonesian environmental organizations that will aid in bringing the Borneo campaign to a wider audience and with the inroads of plantations and continued threats to the now depleted Gunung Leser National Park in North Sumatra currently hitting headlines in Indonesia there is a hope that same fate does not lie in store for Borneo. It will not be only the suffering of orangutans that results; it will be a slow and painful gasp for air from the entire human race.
Whither has Borneo rainforest gone?
“It feels like time is running out, and we can see a way to slow this destruction down, it will happen through our fan base, through our media and through the people who are smart enough to see the connection between this place and their lives, no matter how distant, how different they are,” he says.
Navicula are determined to make the difference, as Bob Marley was famously quoted: “You only miss your water when your well runs dry.” These musicians, eco-activists and humanitarians are committed to keeping water in the wells for the good of all kind. They can see the future ahead and know they have the tools to assist in the changes that need to take place, they just need a little help from their friends…