Restoring the Rights of Jungle People in the Middle of the Palm Oil Wilderness.

The Orang Rimba in the Jambi wilderness are continuously squeezed by oil palm plantations. The place where they live and maintain their traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation, their wilderness is slowly disappearing due to the expansion of large-scale oil palm plantations. However, with the assistance of the Bunga Kembang Community Learning Center (PKBM) and the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, the Orang Rimba are now receiving critical education to understand their rights to living space and customary territories. They learn about customary spatial planning, participatory mapping, and advocacy strategies by involving the younger generation and women. Through intensive training and documentation of customary territories, they now have powerful tools to defend their living space and traditions.

The Bunga Kembang Community Learning Center (PKBM) is an organization established to support education and capacity building for Indigenous Peoples, including the Orang Rimba in Jambi Province. With a primary focus on critical education, this institution seeks to equip the Orang Rimba with the knowledge and courage to fight for their rights to their customary territories. Critical education activities carried out by PKBM Bunga Kembang aim to improve the Orang Rimba's understanding of their rights to living space and customary territories. 

Activities include training on spatial planning and participatory mapping. Through participatory mapping, Indigenous Peoples remap their territories based on history and traditional use. They are assisted in documenting their customary territories in detail and compiling data that can be used as an advocacy tool. Women's groups also receive special training aimed at building their confidence in voicing their rights.

Through critical education organized by PKBM Bunga Kembang, the Orang Rimba now have a deep understanding of their customary spatial planning, including how to map customary areas in a participatory manner using simple technology such as GPS. In addition, Orang Rimba women, who were previously more in the domestic sphere, are now slowly able to lead discussions and advocacy in their communities. Slowly but surely, the Orang Rimba now have the courage and tools to stand at the forefront of protecting their customary areas.