Think-Eat-Share : A Little Note About Orang Rimba and Me

    Orang rimba's  kids on happiness/doc. Huzer Apriansyah

I felt so shame after thirteen months living with Orang Rimba, even though not everyday, just ten till fifteen days a month it’s enough for me to understand how hard their live. Living in the jungle seem nice and fun for us, but trust me it will be hard after a week. Orang Rimba living in the jungle all they life. Can you imagine that ?

For us who living in the city or village, if you want to eat; buy, eat then. It’s easy, right ? For them, if they are hungry, they must go to hunting or collecting jungle’s fruits. You know, how far they need to walk to get fruits or animal prey ? at least two or three kilometers. If they are lucky they can eat if not, you know what would happen…

    Orang rimba collecting jungle's fruit/doc. Huzer Apriansyah

Orang rimba as indigenous people whose living in the tropical rain forest in the heart of Sumatera brought me into a new awareness, respect more on foods. Of course I can say, I buy those kind of foods with my own money, doesn’t matter if I throw my foods into trash bin. Yeah, right ! But life not just about myself, it’s also about us, about future and about how we respect our planet. In every single food that I throw into trash bin it meant I contribute increasing carbon emission.

I don’t want talk about other people, I’ll make myself on picture. Almost every day I bought many kind of foods; fruits, bread, traditional foods, chocolate and many more. In the end of the day, more than 25 percent finish as rubbishes. Why it happened ? It’s because I put money and “what I want” as a limit when I bought something, I forgot to think about “what I need” moreover earth’s future. It was me, how about you   ?

After I met Orang Rimba, slow but sure it’s changing. Ecological things come to be a new limit for me. I just bring little money when I go to shop and bring a list on what I need. It’s working.

I know, you guys may be think if my story more like fantasy than reality, Fine ! But if you want to try living with Orang Rimba at least a week. I promise you will be change. Orang rimba’s wisdom will bring you to the new experience and awareness. They are living with really limited resources so they really respect on their foods, their land and their forest. Can you imagine walking for two or three hours just to get three or four durians or any other fruits, or can you imagine hunting all the night just to get a pig ? It’s hard, so hard.

    Orang rimba sharing their food/doc.KKI-Warsi

Any other thing that I learned from Orang Rimba is sharing foods. They always shared their foods with others. I never saw orang rimba took their pork by his/herself, never ! Share your foods if you want to survive. It’s their principle. Did you share your foods ?

I know there are big difference between us and orang rimba; culturally, socially also economically we are different. But basically we are one, human being and living in the same planet. If they can really wish on using the limited resources why we don’t ? If they can live with high respect to the land and forest, why we don’t ? Orang rimba learning from the nature, and us learning how to conquer the nature. It’s remaining me what Gandhi said .“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed” So, it’s time to change, guys ! Think-Eat-Save and Share for better planet !