"I grew up in the vilage, my father grew up in the village and his father also graew up in the village. We have been living here for 600 years." |
" I hope the kids do not forget the values of the land offering and their roots no matter where they go and how far they go." |
About Us, Buayan
History, Heritage & Ancestry
Kg. Buayan is one of the ten jungle villages along the 'Salt Trail' in the Crocker Range of Sabah, Malaysia, encompassing the Ulu Papar valley. It lies on the two banks of the Papar rivers, surrounded by the rainforests and blue skies (milkyways in the deep darkness at night is amazing!). Currently, around 300 desendents are living in our village with strong community cohesion grounded upon their roots.
Buayan is one of customrary land for the Dusun indigenous ethnic group and the villagers speak both Dusun and Malay. Catholic is the main religion of the community which keep their ties stronger. Easter and Christmas are the biggest holidays in a year when all the generations can gather and celebrate. As far as the elders in our villages are concern, our presence in theses areas is in pre World War II. In our old days, there were conficts between neighboring villages, however, now the hospitality has been rivied through the heads of respective villages and their cooperation helps to build the connections for their future. Buayn people are very well harmonized with nature. Most residents are realying on agricultural activities.
As the village gets more access to the town due to road construction, many young people go out to seek more opportunities nowadays. But we, our Dusun people, hope that our kids would not forget their cultural heritage and values of the land offering them no matter where they are and how far they go.
History, Heritage & Ancestry
Kg. Buayan is one of the ten jungle villages along the 'Salt Trail' in the Crocker Range of Sabah, Malaysia, encompassing the Ulu Papar valley. It lies on the two banks of the Papar rivers, surrounded by the rainforests and blue skies (milkyways in the deep darkness at night is amazing!). Currently, around 300 desendents are living in our village with strong community cohesion grounded upon their roots.
Buayan is one of customrary land for the Dusun indigenous ethnic group and the villagers speak both Dusun and Malay. Catholic is the main religion of the community which keep their ties stronger. Easter and Christmas are the biggest holidays in a year when all the generations can gather and celebrate. As far as the elders in our villages are concern, our presence in theses areas is in pre World War II. In our old days, there were conficts between neighboring villages, however, now the hospitality has been rivied through the heads of respective villages and their cooperation helps to build the connections for their future. Buayn people are very well harmonized with nature. Most residents are realying on agricultural activities.
As the village gets more access to the town due to road construction, many young people go out to seek more opportunities nowadays. But we, our Dusun people, hope that our kids would not forget their cultural heritage and values of the land offering them no matter where they are and how far they go.
Buayan's Past, Present and Future
Historically, access to Buayan used to be a burden, as there were no roads existing and one had to trek to the village. The trek to the city used to take six to eight hours in the old days, then four to five plus an hour’s off-road drive – that is if there was no rain recently and the trucks could move up the logging road. But this not the case anymore with the new road. In the pre-election enthusiasm, the government financed the extension of the logging road to Kampong Buayan, moreover, they have even pledged to regular maintain it! Well, this promise is highly questioned by John and most of our villagers, but still, cars have started to become a regular sight in this corner of the dense Borneo jungle. I hear there are even plans to extend road by a further 18 kms to reach the other modernized road on the other side of the Crocker mountain.Since the new road is ready, we have not been any problems with getting to Penampang (Donggongon) town and subsequently the city of Kota Kinabalu, even if it rained.
In the past, limited access of the city rendered trading of goods in the city unfeasible. Usually we would get their groceries and other supplies from the city; however in the trip to the city they also end up selling some products such as rubber and palm oil. With the new road this might change, however, we would need an economic assessment plan, as the costs involved with road transportation are high, at times much higher than the profit margin we would get.
A lot of government help has been channeled in in various forms: roads, bridges, staircases, trails have been built or renovated and more is to come, as promised.
There is no upper secondary school in the Papar valley. After 6th grade, our kids have to go to school to Penampang. They used to do the journey weekly, on foot before the new road. But, getting on in the city is not an easy chore. As “village-kids” they find it difficult sometimes to integrate into urban teenagers. Teachers also have to converts textbook texts featuring skyscrapers, subway trains, malls and cinemas to riverbeds, palm trees and frogs.
A satellite Internet center was set up here some years ago by a group from the University of Malaysia, Sarawak, but it hasn’t functioned for some months because the micro-hydro system which powers it, hasn’t been working.
Electricity is biggest recent game-changer in the village and they are very much aware of this. Currently it is supplied by a combination of renewable and fossil sources. The school and the information center have solar PV panels as their main supply, with the school also having diesel generators as backup. The village is connected to a micro grid possessing of a micro hydro plant. This has been installed several years ago by an NGO and villagers have been trained to secure its functioning and maintenance.
A lot of government help has been channeled in in various forms: roads, bridges, staircases, trails have been built or renovated and more is to come, as promised.
Historically, access to Buayan used to be a burden, as there were no roads existing and one had to trek to the village. The trek to the city used to take six to eight hours in the old days, then four to five plus an hour’s off-road drive – that is if there was no rain recently and the trucks could move up the logging road. But this not the case anymore with the new road. In the pre-election enthusiasm, the government financed the extension of the logging road to Kampong Buayan, moreover, they have even pledged to regular maintain it! Well, this promise is highly questioned by John and most of our villagers, but still, cars have started to become a regular sight in this corner of the dense Borneo jungle. I hear there are even plans to extend road by a further 18 kms to reach the other modernized road on the other side of the Crocker mountain.Since the new road is ready, we have not been any problems with getting to Penampang (Donggongon) town and subsequently the city of Kota Kinabalu, even if it rained.
In the past, limited access of the city rendered trading of goods in the city unfeasible. Usually we would get their groceries and other supplies from the city; however in the trip to the city they also end up selling some products such as rubber and palm oil. With the new road this might change, however, we would need an economic assessment plan, as the costs involved with road transportation are high, at times much higher than the profit margin we would get.
A lot of government help has been channeled in in various forms: roads, bridges, staircases, trails have been built or renovated and more is to come, as promised.
There is no upper secondary school in the Papar valley. After 6th grade, our kids have to go to school to Penampang. They used to do the journey weekly, on foot before the new road. But, getting on in the city is not an easy chore. As “village-kids” they find it difficult sometimes to integrate into urban teenagers. Teachers also have to converts textbook texts featuring skyscrapers, subway trains, malls and cinemas to riverbeds, palm trees and frogs.
A satellite Internet center was set up here some years ago by a group from the University of Malaysia, Sarawak, but it hasn’t functioned for some months because the micro-hydro system which powers it, hasn’t been working.
Electricity is biggest recent game-changer in the village and they are very much aware of this. Currently it is supplied by a combination of renewable and fossil sources. The school and the information center have solar PV panels as their main supply, with the school also having diesel generators as backup. The village is connected to a micro grid possessing of a micro hydro plant. This has been installed several years ago by an NGO and villagers have been trained to secure its functioning and maintenance.
A lot of government help has been channeled in in various forms: roads, bridges, staircases, trails have been built or renovated and more is to come, as promised.
Daily Issues in Buayan, Sabah
Categories
Categories
New Sabah Times: Sabah's first established newspaper
A river keeper unit has been set up to assist in protecting elephants and other wildlife at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary....
Full Story