meet my daughter!

Today I was informed that the adoption process went through and I have a new daughter! I'm so excited! :)  Her name is Kesi, she lives in Kalimantan, and I may never be able to see her (though I want to see her, maybe next year). She is a baby orangutan, and she lost one of her hands because of the big bad poachers roaming about the island trying to make a quick cash.

Kesi in the reserves

I am so glad to be able to help Kesi and the nice people caring for her at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. I have always wanted to help orangutan conservation but never knew how I can directly help them. There are ways to volunteer in the centers but it is very expensive, and I cannot make it my priority for now. These lovely creatures are facing extinction because of our greed. Some of them are casualties of forest clearing for palm oil plantations (BURNED ALIVE! I cried when I saw the pictures :'( ) and some others are seen as pest for palm oil plantations, which is why they were poisoned and/or violently tortured to death. 

I have been actively reducing the use of palm oil derivative products in my daily life (which is somewhat difficult!) and I seek to use products that are planted in a sustainable way in line with the RSPO. A friend of mine told me about this adoption last week and I knew that this is something I can do, at least for a start and better than doing nothing! The adoption process started when I emailed them, and it was quite speedy. I am very delighted to receive the adoption package in my email this morning. This is something I will continue to do in the years to come, supporting Kesi and her friends in every which way that I can. And you can adopt too! It really is not expensive, only USD 40 for a 3 month period (or an equivalent of IDR 350,000). Alternatively, you can adopt for 6 months with USD 80 and 12 months with USD 160. Visit the foundation's website to start adopting now, and start giving back to Mother Nature! :)

PS: click on the shared adoption part in brown to see the cute babies that you can adopt.

PPS: I am sad to see that Indonesian Palm Oil Producer Association has withdrawn their membership from RSPO. I hope this will not mean a worse future for Indonesia's forests and wildlife :(