For centuries, the Punan people have dwelled in the forests of Borneo. Formerly
nomadic hunter-gatherers, they now live in villages and grow some of their food. But
hunting, fishing and gathering products of the forest are still the main activities of
daily life.
Early in 2000, French photographer Christophe Kuhn visited Metut, a northeastern
corner of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, where the Punan live in and around Bulungan Research
Forest. Over a period of several weeks, Kuhn followed the Punan in their usual activities
and documented scenes of daily life.
Some Punan villages are in remote areas, but the Punan are not isolated. They have
long interacted with traders and other outsiders. In recent decades, government programmes
have provided better access to education and health services. Television and consumer
goods are also increasingly available.
The Punan know the forest well and, when necessary, how to tap its resources to
survive. But faced with the often stark living conditions, many Punan travel to
neighbouring Malaysia to work on oil palm plantations or as loggers. With the arrival of
more and more commercial enterprises, some local communities have sold or considered
selling their land.
Under these pressures, the forest home of the Punan and other indigenous groups in
the area is shrinking rapidly, threatening their way of life. The Punan have demonstrated
their ability to adapt. But whether they will benefit from the wave of development or find
themselves cut off from essential resources of the forest is a troubling question that
remains to be answered.
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