Conservation · Restoration · Community

Restoring Borneo's Peatland Heart — People, Forest, and Fire

Central Kalimantan, Indonesia · Himba Raya Indonesia (HIRAI)

HIRAI believes that forests and communities flourish together, or not at all. Every tree planted in Central Kalimantan's degraded peatlands is an act of resilience: for the land, for indigenous families, and for a climate in crisis.

Himba Raya Indonesia Foundation (HIRAI) exists to build local community resilience toward climate change through nature-based solutions. We work at the intersection of peatland conservation, reforestation, youth empowerment, and sustainable livelihoods, because the crisis in Central Kalimantan demands every tool at once.

Funding from this round will directly accelerate our tree-adoption program, youth environmental awareness, and women's community group (Srikandi Lestari), ensuring that the people most affected by forest loss become its primary guardians.

A rainforest burning from within

Central Kalimantan holds one of the world's largest tropical peatland systems, a vast carbon store built over thousands of years. Decades of logging, illegal conversion to palm oil plantations, and poorly governed land use have left this landscape broken. Drainage canals slice through peat bogs that once stayed perpetually wet, turning them into tinder. The fires that follow are not accidents; they are the predictable consequence of degradation. Indigenous and local families suffer most. Smoke-related respiratory illness spikes every dry season.

Restoration rooted in community

HIRAI's approach centers on two intertwined convictions: that ecological restoration without community ownership fails, and that economic empowerment without ecological restoration is hollow. Our programs weave these together deliberately.

Through our "Adopt Trees for Life" initiative, supporters sponsor native tree species that are planted and cared for by local families in degraded peatland buffer zones. Adoptive trees are GPS-tagged, annually monitored, and reported on with full survival-rate transparency. Each planting event is also a cultural moment: local ecological knowledge is documented and passed to younger participants alongside scientific methods.

Srikandi Lestari, our women's conservation group, trains and employs local women as nursery managers and community educators, creating stable income streams tied directly to forest health.

Numbers we can stand behind

Every tree in our program is GPS-tagged and measured annually. Growth rates, survival percentages, and estimated CO₂ sequestration are published transparently for all adopters. We track not only ecological outcomes but community ones: jobs created, youth participants reached, women trained as environmental leaders, and households reporting improved air quality during fire season.

Impact by the Numbers:

15 t CO₂ sequestered since 2022
9,000 trees planted across peatland and heath forest
100% annual monitoring transparency
2 vital ecosystems protected

Built on years of on-the-ground work

HIRAI has operated in Central Kalimantan since its founding, deepening relationships with local villages, indigenous leaders, schools, and government partners over years of consistent presence. We are not an outside organization parachuting in with solutions , we are embedded in the bioregion we serve. Our team members are from the communities we work with, and decisions about land, planting priorities, and program design are made with, not for, local people.

Our 2026 impact data, including metrics on tree survival, carbon sequestration, and community program reach, is openly available at himbaraya.org.