INDONESIA, Mandalamekar Village, Java - May 2009
Multi-Purpose Community Building for children and others in support of replanting 72 acres and protecting a total of 267 acres of no-take rainforest
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Mandalamekar Village, located in the highlands of West Java, is home to 3,200 people who are mainly engaged in farming. Mandalamekar village recently created its own protected forest area of four sections totaling 267 acres. In 2008, the village took it upon itself to reclaim 74 acres of community land and replanted about 12,000 native tree seedlings. They plan to expand tree-planting activities to cover another 72 acres of degraded forest with about 15,000 seedlings in 2009. Since the main intent of replanting and protecting this forest is to enhance this critical watershed function for the village, the village wants to protect this forest into perpetuity. The forest features several significant waterfalls and is an important habitat for several primate species such as lutungs, the endangered Javan Surili and many kinds of birds. The primary need in Mandalamekar Village is a multi-purpose community building for village meetings, art, culture and recreation. The community is keen to make an agreement to protect the no-take forest in exchange for this much-needed village facility. The village government, village police, village civil defense force and an informal community group called Mitra Alam Muggaran will conduct patrols and build a communication system to facilitate the patrols. *
UPDATE August 2009 - As of early August 2009 project contact Irman Meilandi reports that the materials for the building have been delivered to the village and construction has begun.
UPDATE November 2009 - As of November 2009 construction is more than half complete, with the foundation and many of the structural elements in place. The second phase of construction will include the installation of remaining structural elements, along with the roof and interior painting and other details. Additionally, a local environmental group, Mitra Alam Munggaran, has been working in the Karang Soak Forest to replant and maintain seedlings on 29 hectacres land. The group has also been engaging local junior high school students in environmental education projects that teach the importance of replanting and responsible forestry stewardship.
UPDATE January 2010 - . Construction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2010.
Blog updates (in Indonesian)
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by: 
