Two of our projects in Aceh are names of mountains: Gunung Mas and Gunung Leuser. (“Gunung” means mountain in Bahasa). Gunung Mas is the name of our eco-village in West Aceh. It is a pioneering project which is now being replicated in what is now becoming a family of villages (Daya) in the region of West Aceh. Gunung Mas/Peulanteu is the exemplary model for other eco-developments in Aceh setting the trend. Gunung Leuser is an extinct volcano at the heart of the great Leuser Ecosystem, Aceh’s majestic tropical rainforest.
Blue arrow in map (below)
The village of Gunung Mas in West Aceh is a new village formed enterprisingly and somewhat spontaneously as an inland upriver community for refugees after the Tsunami. What people needed after the destruction and loss of life and social structures was meaningful community rather than just houses. The community of Gunung Mas is an attempt to set an example for eco development in a newly autonomous Aceh: How food can best be produced and resources sustainably managed and maximized for harmonious human and natural development, as well as to set a trend for forest repair. The community is at present figuring out how to install a suitable micro hydro plant in a very powerful nearby river for electricity. We need help and encouragement. We are also planting trees to replace forests pillaged during the 30 years’ war and irresponsible commercial logging. We have established a multi-species tree nursery for this purpose.
The Leuser Eco-system is situated in West, Central, East and South Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia and consists of more than two and a half million hectares of tropical rain forest. It comprises lowland, coastal, highland and mountain forests, lakes, wetlands, rift valleys and volcanoes, the largest untouched tropical rainforest left in S.E. Asia. Parts of it are gazetted by UNESCO as World Natural Heritage. Mount Leuser at the heart of the Leuser Ecosystem is a veritable symbol of Aceh itself and is subject of legends concerning the beginning of Creation and its end. Leuser is also one of the most ancient tropical rain forests in the world and one of the most diversified, both in its topographical aspects of terrain/habitat as well as the flora and fauna that inhabit it. The Leuser ecosystem is a treasure house of natural history dating back millions of years. Our project is to conserve it zealously for future generations and by learning from it maximize it’s true value. Read more of our plans for the future of Leuser.
Red arrow in map (below)
Welcome to Upriver projects!
We love forests. We see tropical rainforests as the most eloquent manifestation of God’s creation in diversity and majesty. We also know from Science how tropical rainforests regulate the Earth’s climate and see how they are being destroyed for short term financial profits to the peril of the entire planet. We are resolved to conserve what is left of them in Aceh and try to repair the damage already done. We see this task as a sacred duty and a service to humanity. Aceh is the home of the largest remaining expanses of tropical rainforests in South East Asia. Leuser is one of the most ancient forests in the world.
