Dr Ating Foundation

Description

We are an Indonesian couple living on Malenge Island, one of 60 islands of the Togean Archipelago, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Though small, around 15 square kilometer, Malenge has rich biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial. Here live endemic and endangered species such as macaque and tarsier (primates), babirusa or pigdeer (pig looks like deer because it has 4 tusks), cuscus (marsupial like koala in Australia, carrying its baby in its pouch), hornbill (big bird like toucan) and coconut crab. Unfortunately all these wonderful creatures are under threat of extinction; local people trap and kill them and they fell big trees in the forest, whose fruits are the main food of those wildlife. To save these animals, we have done the following: 1. Creating trails in the forest for monitoring illegal logging and wildlife trapping and for ecotourism. 2. Teaching English to local children and adults to provide skill needed for working in ecotourism 3. Buying and dedicating a plot of land for animal sanctuary so that the wildlife are less likely being trapped and killed in the gardens of the locals.