Media Centre for Volunteer with Indigenous Communities on Conservation Projects in Borneo

Lisa - Borneo Volunteer

If you are staying for a long period, your homestay is limited to a week; you are then relocated to another homestay family home.

We found this to be a great opportunity to become more involved with the locals and village life and to experience more areas of the village. We even spotted an orang-utan from a homestay verandah – How good is that!!

Each homestay family is different, as expected. All we experienced had very comfortable facilities – a separate bedroom, beds and mosquito netting, bathrooms and an inside toilet, electricity and whether you like it or not - TV. The water is rainwater, boiled water is provided for drinking. No flushing toilets and you will not find running water in the shower. The ‘use water wisely’ option in the village is the ‘mandi’ (literally ‘to bathe’), a simple and very enjoyable process of pouring a jug of water over your head. It is amazing how much enjoyment can be achieved with a couple of litres of water. We thoroughly enjoyed our daily ‘dip’. Most villagers – young and old - take their daily bath in the mighty Kinabatangan River.

It is difficult to fully convey the sheer enjoyment of being welcomed into someone’s home in another country. Of being fed such wonderful food and of the conversations and information exchanged regardless of how much of each others language is known. A truly unique and heartwarming experience.