When people in Tongka talk about their forest, they do not start with hectares and maps – they start with their ancestors. For generations, the Dayak Tewoyan people have fished the Barito River, gathered rattan and honey, and cared for sacred groves where they ask the forest for guidance and strength.
Today, their descendants are protecting this forest together with our local partner organization, Save Our Borneo.
A forest that finally has a name
Now, nearly 6,000 hectares are officially recognized as the Tongka Village Forest, finally bearing the community’s name. Coal and palm oil corporations can no longer simply draw lines on a map and move in with chainsaws and excavators. For Tongka, this is more than a legal victory – it is proof that they are not powerless in the face of land grabbing and backroom political deals.
How Tongka won recognition
Behind this success lie years of patient work: villagers walking the boundaries, mapping every stream and hill, and documenting graves, caves, and old settlement sites to show that this forest is their home, not “empty land.” Save Our Borneo has stood with them through every meeting and every setback, turning local knowledge and community courage into a powerful case for land rights.
Borneo’s communities under pressure
Tongka is not alone. Across Borneo, Indigenous communities are resisting peatland “food estates,” mega-plantations, and fires that choke the air and harm the climate. Peat forests that once stored immense amounts of carbon and sheltered orangutans and hornbills are being drained for shortsighted schemes that have already failed in the past. When these peatlands burn, families flee the smoke, children fall ill, and entire landscapes are reduced to ash.
The Tongka model and your support
A better way is within reach: securing Indigenous land rights, restoring peatlands instead of draining them, and trusting communities that have protected these forests for centuries. Please donate now to support Save Our Borneo – your gift will place title deeds in villagers’ hands, bring water back to drained peat, and show young activists that the world has not forgotten their struggle.
Your donation helps communities like Tongka secure a future in which forests, people, and wildlife can thrive together.
