THE Legend of mountain salt

© Edwin Meru / FORMADAT © Edwin Meru / FORMADAT PROGRAMME local legend has it that the Amountain salt was ‘discovered’ by a hunter. After he shot a bird with his “We have no other homeland, blowpipe, the game fell into a marshy save the Highlands of Borneo where we have lived for generations.” area of the forest. The hunter picked (Lewi G Paru, Head of FORMADAT-) it up, plucked the feathers, washed the © Formadat game in the marshy water and went back home. At home, he cooked the bird formadat over fire and was pleasantly surprised The island of Borneo is a treasure trove for biodiversity and culture. The Highlands by the flavorful taste of the meat. It are the homeland of several Dayak Indigenous Peoples: Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, was unlike anything he had ever tasted Sa’ban, Kelabit, and Penan. Although they are now separated by the international before. border between Indonesia and , the groups are linguistically and culturally closely related and share the same origin and homeland in the Highlands. Living He went back to the place where he in a relatively remote area, even today close social and economic interactions and © WWF-Indonesia / Cristina Eghenter © WWF-Indonesia / Cristina hunted and looked around to find out interdependence are essential part of the life and resilience of these communities. why the bird tasted so savory. He tasted the water of the marsh and realized Learning from unsustainable development experiences in surrounding areas, the that it was the water that was different. local communities were concerned that by intensifying the economic development After the event people started using that of the area they would risk the degradation of the quality of the social and water to cook food until they figured natural environment. out the way to evaporate the water and extract the salt crystals. Salt spring in Long Layu In October 2004, the Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, Kelabit and Sa’ban people of the © WWF-Indonesia / Cristina Eghenter Highlands of Borneo established a transboundary organisation. The Forum of the THE Krayan Highlands IN the Heart of Bo Indigenous People of the Highlands of Borneo -FORMADAT- aims at increasing from rnEO awareness and understanding about the Highland communities, maintain cultural traditions and encourage sustainable development in the Heart of Borneo. The event was supported by WWF-Indonesia.

We do not need to be part of a traditional community in a physical sense to become actors of change for healthier lifestyles and the protection of bio- cultural traditions. Simply through our food choices we can help protect key biodiversity and maintain the value and cultural identity of food crops.

The printing of this brochure is made possible by a grant from The Audemars Piguet Foundation Traditional he Highlands of the Heart of Borneo The production of Toffer some enchanting views. The Knowledge & Natural typical landscape is one of wide valleys Mountain Salt (Tucu’) interlaced with traditional paddy fields, Resources in the Krayan bamboo stands and fruit trees embraced ountain salt originates from high by gentle slopes covered with dense fo­ Msalinity water that flows from deep Highlands rest. Rivers meander through or at times underground. It was trapped there milli­ many salt springs in the area, we do know rush into rapids. The natural scenery is ons of years ago when the landscape of the from ethno-historical records that salt was also conditioned by the multiple uses of Highlands was covered by sea. one of the most valuable commodities traded the land and its natural resources. This out of the Krayan Highlands. The salt was a time, it looks like people and nature have Over time, local people have come to know highly priced commodity in the very isolated worked well together to shape the land- those brine springs which were good for interior, and -in the old days- one bar of salt scape in beautiful and sustainable ways. producing salt (main) and those which could be traded for a traditional metal sword were salt licks (rupan) visited by wildlife. (parang) in the Apo Kayan region to the Mountain Salt of Krayan

Long Miau Through ingenuity and skill, local people The traditional way of storing salt is to Long Pa Sia south. have turned the high salinity water into salt smoke it in bamboo stems over the and traded the product throughout the inte- Salt production occurs throughout the year, fire and then wrap the salt bars with rior. Although we don’t exactly know when but is more frequent during the less intensive leaves. The salt is typically stored in local people started to extract salt from the spells of the rice agricultural cycle. Family firewood stacks over the fireplace in groups take turns processing the salt, spend- the kitchen. This way the salt bars

Ba Kelalan ing two to three weeks at the production site would keep hard and dry and could be Long Bawan at a time if far away from the village. Women used for many years.

North play a key role in the production process. Pa Lungan The production of mountain salt is an Lembudud Salt is used for both home consumption and Bareo Pa Umor commercial sale. The processing method important part of the historical and cultural Long Layu Pa Main © Edwin Meru / FORMADAT is wholly traditional and locally developed, heritage of the communities living in the People from other ethnic groups also seek

Pa Dali with the only technological addition of metal Highlands of Borneo. Salt is often given the mountain salt because they believe it One of the unique features of the Highlands drums to cook larger quantities of brine and as gift to visitors or brought along when has medicinal properties. To this day, salt © WWF-Indonesia / Tom Maddox is the high concentration of salt springs extract salt in a shorter period of time. visiting family members in the lowlands. remains a trade commodity and a power- in the relatively flat alluvial valleys. Most ful symbol of identity for the people living of them are situated in low swampy areas, in the Krayan Highlands. others flow from the foothills in the for- The Highlands in The Heart of Borneo est and mix with the water of the streams. Recently, the mountain salt of Krayan There are currently 33 known salt springs was included in the Slow Food Ark of Legend: in the Krayan Highlands, but not all of Villages Taste products. This is in recognition them are used to produce mountain salt, Heart of Borneo Elevation (m) of the unique characteristics and local locally known as tucu’ (Jayl Langub, 2012). Rivers Booundaries 1 - 500 importance, but also rarity of the product. National 501 - 1,000 (http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/ Provincial 1,001 - 1,500 Jayl Langub, 2012. Krayan Highland Salt in © WWF-Indonesia / Cristina Eghenter © WWF-Indonesia / Tom Maddox © Bibong ark/details/1979/mountain-salt-from- Highlands 1,501 - 2,000 Central Borneo: Its uses and significance. Borneo the-krayan-highlands#.U5axVaWpM7E) Krayan Highlands 2,001 - 2,500 Research Bulletin, vol 43, 2012: 186-204.