Mt. Kinabalu National Park, Borneo, 1995 © Michael Doolittle
News & Announcements
Return to Nanga Jela, Pemulai ke Nanga Jela Book Launch a Huge Success
On Tuesday October 14, 2025 Dr. Christine Padoch participated in the official book launch for her new book Return to Nanga Jela, Pemulai ke Nanga Jela. The launch was at the Sarawak State Book Fair in Kuching and was one of seven books launched this year. The Governor of Sarawak presided at the launch.
In addition there was an hour-long bilingual presentation of the book at the Fair with dignitaries, including the Tuai Rumah of Nanga Jela as a speaker, Jayl Langub as a commentator and the translator, and Dr. Charlie Dudang as the moderator. A crowd of residents of Nanga Jela traveled to Kuching to participate in the launch of this ground breaking book. One participant even came from Johore. Return to Nanga Jela, Pemulai ke Nanga Jela offers a glimpse of a moment in the past of a landscape, a longhouse, and a distinctive way of life that has vanished. As such this book is an important source of identity and memory for the Nanga Jela Community.
In addition to the government-sponsored events, Padoch gave talks about the book at several venues in Kuching and in Peninsular Malaysia, sponsored by the Friends of the Sarawak Museum, Areca Books, and Sunda Shelves, a nature-themed bookstore in Kuala Lumpur. Padoch was also interviewed on WBFM, a business-oriented radio station in KL.
Of note was a festive book distribution event in the longhouse with every family receiving a copy of Nanga Jela, Pemulai ke Nanga Jela and larger families receiving multiple copies.
Padoch also had a 3-campus book tour in California with Nancy Peluso as an interviewer and discussant at UC-Berkeley and UC-Santa Cruz.
Anyone wishing to replicate the process undergone by Padoch and her Iban collaborators should reach out to either the Borneo Research Council, or directly to Dr. Christine Padoch.
Announcing Our 2025 Borneo Research Council Medal of Excellence Recipient
Professor Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan is the recipient of the 2025 Borneo Research Council Medal of Excellence, a prestigious recognition of her exceptional contributions to Borneo-related research.
She was nominated based on her in-depth research in the fields of ethnomusicology and Sabah culture, alongside active involvement with local communities which has enriched local understanding of heritage, community issues as well as capacity development of young researchers at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). She has also unstintingly supported the activities of the Borneo Research Council over the years and has been responsible for organizing the BRC conferences in Sabah.
The award presentation was held at the Borneo Institute for Indigenous Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on 7 November 2025. The event was facilitated by Professor Dr. Asmady Idris, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, representing the Vice Chancellor of UMS, along with Dr. Valerie Mashman representing the Borneo Research Council.
Professor Dr Jacqueline Pugh- Kitingan in her acceptance speech reminisced how from a young age she was aware of Borneo though reading books from the shelves of her parents’ Christian missionary friends. This knowledge of Borneo was increased while she was conducting her first fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, when she met a Lun Bawang pastor from Sarawak and his family. She eventually went to the University of Queensland to do her PhD and while there she met her future husband, a Sabahan, Laurentius Kitingan who was studying Agricultural Science. She began to be interested in all things related to Borneo and it was recommended she read the Borneo Research Bulletin, a journal reputed to hold the highest academic integrity. She went on to recall how she first met George and Laura Appell during the first BRC conference in Sabah in 1990. This meeting led to a long and fruitful friendship.
Dr Valerie Mashman
To read the Borneo Research Council Medal Encomium for Dr. Pugh-Kitingan click here.
Professor Dr. Asmady Idris, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, representing the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah , Professor Dr Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan and Dr Valerie Mashman on behalf of the Borneo Research Council.
Rainforest Baskets | Rattan Basket Weaving in Indonesian Borneo
For centuries the Dayaks of Borneo have used the strength of rattan to fashion working baskets made to last in an extreme environment. These rainforest baskets are really tough and the handles do not drop off as they are woven into the structure of the basket.
We use the dark rattan considered waste by the rattan factories and this gives each basket a unique natural colour. We do not use toxic chemicals or dyes and the baskets are shipped to the UK from the jungle. The raw rattan canes are not transported thousands of miles by road and sea to factories in Java or China before they even start the journey to Europe.
The Planet Basket Project is a small but critical part of the larger Katingan Project, an important rainforest ERC (Eco System Restoration Concession) and aims to create vital revenue for people who would otherwise have little or no alternative to illegal logging, clearing forest for palm oil cultivation or poaching endangered species including orangutan, pangolin, cloud leopards and orchids.
Photo Courtesy of Emily Readett-Bayley Website
Seeking Books for Review and Publications for Inclusion in the Borneo Bibliography
We are looking for a new Book Review Editor. Please reach out to brc@borneoresearchcouncil.org indicating your interest or with names of people you might recommend. A Bibliography of recent publications will appear in each issue of the Bulletin. Books for review, reprints, or other notices of recent publications would be gratefully received by the editor.
Please send these to brc@borneoresearchcouncil.org.
Books for review, reprints, or other notice of recent publications would be gratefully received by the Borneo Research Council. Please send these to brc@borneoresearchcouncil.org. A Bibliography of recent publications will appear in each issue of the Bulletin.
