LIFE IN THE OIL PALM PLANTATIONS IN BORNEO. LIFE IN THE REMOTE OIL PALM AND COCOA PLANTATIONS IN GREEN BORNEO

KATRINA, THE AUTHOR OF WOMAN 724. IS MY GUEST WRITER ON
 " LIFE IN THE REMOTE OIL PALM AND COCOA PLANTATIONS, LOCATED IN THE DEEP JUNGLES OF BORNEO..."

A VIEW FROM MY BALCONY- SEE THE MOUNTAINOUS  BACKGROUND

JUNGLE CLEARING MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION

My late husband was a planter, involved in jungle clearing works to open Oil Palm/Cocoa plantations deep in the jungles of Borneo

We had the very basic of facilities. Electricity driven by generators or oil lamps. Rain water from roof gutters, collected into deep wells for treatment, later pumped into our homes for daily consumption

Communications was bad. A twin otter plane serviced twice weekly, if weather permits. By land access was through Tabin Forest Reserve jungle tracks, hours of slippery, bumpy dirt roads. Upon heavy rains, these tracks may just get washed out and disappeared. Log bridges used can get washed away too, by the fast waters

We had to endure three similar river crossings (above) to get to the nearest town, if weather permits. If it rains, it was near impossible to get across the river due to the heavy traffic.

We may be cut off for weeks. So we had to turn to the rivers for our fresh fishes/prawns supplies. From the jungles, abundant supplies of fresh meat; deer, jungle buffaloes and  porcupines  are available and for Non Muslims, endless supplies of the wild boars.



Just down my kitchen steps, rows of asparagus plants.... fresh and delicious.

We grew our own fruits and vegetables including  pumpkins. We (barter) exchange of foodstuff; Our product harvests were distributed to everyone and likewise, the others did the same to us. Food was plentiful, fresh and free. 



Maids picking long beans.. Fresh, crunchy and yummy

We had fruit trees around the compound. This rambutan fruit tree was just beside my house. Fruits everywhere, even touching the ground. The kids can just sit, chit-chat as they plucked and ate the fruits around them. There are 2 varieties-  yellow and red

       

 Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, is one of the largest rehabilitation centre in the world for Orang Utan

I have one very best friend, actually both our hubbies were best of  friends when they were bachelors. They both died about the same age, within 5yrs of each other. That’s the picture of her daughter, Puteri Saerah, she's now a 3^rd year medical student in Jordan


....My gardener was a strange man. Kind of too attached to each tree/plants around the house compound. Few months I requested that he trimmed off the unnecessary branches, some even spreading on the ground. He silently refused, and just let them grow. The trees and plants around our bungalow were like his family, I suppose!

 I got some young boys from the estate to help him clear the area. Asked them to chop and clear off those branches, and the curry tree was huge (should have been just shrubs). The gardener was coining up all sorts of excuses; not this branch, not that, leave that one alone etc. When the boys finally chopped off these branches, he almost fainted!


A Danish guy who was working there before us and he was the former occupant of the bungalow which we stayed in. The estate started under a Company with it's headoffice in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has changed hands since then.

There are so many varieties of food preparation here, including those of the ethnic sabahan     communities, the malays, indonesian, chinese and indian  ways of cooking food.  We were so closely knit and very helpfull to each other, where most basic necessities are by way of barter   trade between us- in our own world. Sometimes i miss this kind of life very much                         


I plan to include an article on “Plantation Life” with many more pictures (from way back in the 1918’s) later in my blog @  http://www.woman724.blogspot.com/.



Cheers to all

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