A RISEN APE, NOT A FALLEN ANGEL


I am Erwin.

I'm an Orangutan Trapped in a Human Body!
Genetically, we shared 96.4% to their DNA. And it's mean that we have an orangutan inside in all of us. That is why i call my self a risen ape, not a fallen angel.

 I have been an Eco Tour Guide since 2008 and am a member of The Indonesian Tour Guide Association (HPI).

When i was 10 years old, i dreamed of working with Orangutans, in the rainforest that i had heard about from my uncle's stories. My uncle has been a Forest Guard (Jaga Wana) in Tanjung Puting National Park from 1984 to the present day.


In 1998, i left my hometown and went across to Kumai, Central Kalimantan by ferry on my own to reach my dream. On September, 14,1998 i became a Park Ranger in Tanjung Puting National Park and met with the orangutans for the first time.

Dream came true!

I spent approximately 6 years working with orangutans in the Tanjung Puting National Park before joining an NGO in 2003, working in a community development project in Sekonyer River Village, helping provide an alternative income for the villagers.

I spent three years at the project, teaching English and establishing a co-operative art & souvenir shop. I also taught young villagers how to make and print orangutan themed t-shirts and other souvenirs to sell in the art shop.

I really enjoyed life in the village. In my free time, i liked playing badminton and volleyball, bathing in the river and learning how to swim.

In 2006, i left all the good memories with the villagers behind me, and started to work at the Rimba Orangutan Ecolodge, which is located on the bank of the Sekonyer River in the heart of Tanjung Puting National Park.

As an outdoor person, and my passions are orangutans and the rainforest. I resigned from Rimba Orangutan Ecolodge in 2008 and started working professionally as a freelance Tour Guide. 

And in 2016, I and my collegues built our own Tour Company.
BABY SITTING ORPHAN BABIES AT TANJUNG HARAPAN CAMP (2000)

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