After the successful debut of the Rainforest Pavilion at Wonderfruit festival, the Joy Collective went to the Northern rainforests of Sumatra. The mission was to capture the beauty of this untamed fragile ecosystem in a way that could be recreated for the next Rainforest Pavilion. DJs Alex Joy and Halim Ardie collected drone footage, photography, sound recordings and inspiration from the rainforest, as a way to preserve it before it is decimated by human encroachment. What started as a way to protect nature became an adventure, where the rainforest showed itself to be a raw powerful force that needs to be respected.

No amount of preparation and can brace you for what could be literally described as a walk in the park. The Gunung Leuser National Park is an ecosystem full of wild animals and fringed with tourist trails. A home for rehabilitated orangutans that spent part of their lives in captivity and now live on the edge of ever expanding palm oil plantations and the dense ancient jungle. This area has become a tourist destination for adventurers that are catered to by local guides who have indigenous roots connected to the land. Tourism serves as a double edged sword for the ecosystem, floods of people looking to catch a glimpse of its natural beauty impacts the land, however, their cash flow protects the jungle from unrelenting palm oil plantations and other industries like illegal poaching.

The Joy Collective’s four-day trek into fierce Sumatran landscape began on the outskirts of the nature reserve at Bukit Lawang, which hosts several lodges for travellers and runs alongside a massive river. The Bohorok, slivers through the rainforest like the pythons that inhabit it, the river acts as a natural barrier to the surrounding villages and endless plantations. The villagers are on the cusp of a battle between jungle conservation and big businesses, they often have to choose between the two as their main sources income. A battle played out in all reaches of the Indonesian archipelago, where the environment suffers in the face of advancing industry. The rainforest is a four-hour drive from the nearest city Medan, which is a bustling metropolis powered by corporations fuelling the development of the robust countryside.

As dawn broke on the first day, Alex and Halim gathered with senior guide Oman and porters Bes and Gilang. Staunch conservationist Jungle Eddie, a local legend in the area and leader for the guides looking to preserve the jungle, bid the group farewell and would be waiting for them at the end of their journey. Jungle Eddie focuses his time on trying to improve the union and training of guides in the area. He preaches the importance of preserving the land as a home for Orangutan and other wildlife and builds ecological business models for the community. He has helped rehabilitate many former poachers into guiding work. These men often have deep love for the forest, poaching is just a means of making decent money which is hard in the region, given another opportunity, they will happily take it.

Walking past the various groups of strolling tourists looking for a pleasant one-day walk and other nature enthusiasts looking for the same four-day adventure, Oman lead them into jungle. All of the groups had the same look of nervousness and excitement, as they knew they were about to descend into the wilderness.

Oman quickly asserted himself as an outspoken, rugged man of the land whose potential seemed out of place in the jungle nor would be at home in the city. A primitive force stuck in a modern world, his simple vision for rainforest protection was quite animalistic. As he stood against the rubber tree which he pointed out to the group, used to provide the main income for locals before being taken over by the palm oil industry that is more harmful to the environment than the growing of rubber trees. His solution was simple, sex. Sex would serve as the way to bring back the rubber industry. Oman detailed that current prices for rubber is at 10,000 rupiah per kilo, while rice, the main staple of Indonesian meals, was at 14,000 rupiah. “How can we survive when our main food is more expensive than our main source of income?” he rhetorically asked the group. “The world needs more sex, because for sex you need condoms, and for condoms you need rubber.” A tongue-in-cheek view that doesn’t quite grasp mechanics of the condom production process, still it serves as an insight into the man that is Oman and also the harshness that locals have to face.

The trails are a sprawling network of paths that dip in and out of the deep jungle. The ever-growing numbers of tourists to the area come for the Instagram worthy snap of orangutans, and the guides are pressured to set up the opportunity. The rehabilitated orangutans display unnatural behaviour of walking on the ground looking for handouts from the guides that distract them long enough for the picturesque moments.

The forest gets denser as they hike away from the crowded trails. This is where the true energy of the rainforest reveals itself. The endless hum of cicadas plays against the howls of primates echoing throughout the jungle, the green hues of the leaves begin to multiply and the heat coming off the humid landscape thickens the air. Civilization never seemed further away than in this space.

Following the designated path that Oman has mapped out this journey, the hike continues to dip in and out of the deep jungle. Even at first glance, the jungle reveals the intricate ecosystem that lives in perfect harmony amongst layers of animals, insects, plants and trees. One can just imagine the endless amount of undiscovered species and microorganisms that could serve as the next miracle medical treatment. The rainforests hold so many secrets that are threatened of being lost forever due to the looming cloud of what is done in the name of progress.

The day’s trek eventually leads the first campsite, set up along small creeks that splinters off of Bohorok. The campsite is a bunch of bare-bones huts, which feel like luxury after the strenuous hiking. At this site, the group is joined by their chef for the journey, whose silent demeanour is a juxtaposition to the vibrant flavours of his cooking, using a combination of fresh produce sourced from the nearby farms and generations old technique of open flame jungle cooking. Alex takes the down time to set up the recorder for field recordings, going off into the descending night, Chef warns Alex to be careful. As the night slowly came into being, the stars revealed an infinite crisscross of dots across the sky. Tranquillity could be found in a moment of stargazing where shooting stars and fireflies melded into each other creating a spectacular light show pulsating with rhythm of nature and the endless low rumble of the flowing creek. This was broken up by the murmurs of “where’s Alex?,” Oman ventured out into the darkness in search of him. After a tense 30 minutes, both of them returned all smiles and proud of the quality recordings they captured.

Day two’s trek started after breakfast, which was a nearly 90 degree climb back into the thick of the jungle. Oman started to take on the role of mentor/drill sergeant for Gilang, as the son of another senior jungle guide, Gilang has a role to fulfill as one of the future guides of the rainforest, and Oman was going to take this opportunity to give the 19-year-old a crash course in jungle survival. Their banter quickly grew from jovial to tension filled, perpetually annoying Gilang. As the group travelled up and down the barely walkable, root-entangled paths, talk turned to Mina. One of the rehabilitated primates, Mina was one of the countless cruelty stories that the orangutans come from before being released back into the wild. Since she came from a traumatic past, every single guide has a bite mark or scar from the aggressive beast and a story that goes with it.

Going for hours without encountering people, when different groups crossed paths, greetings were awkward and unnatural, the crew of 5 grew accustomed to each other plus the nature surrounding them, new groups didn’t seem to fit in with their primal equation. The crew ventured closer to the paths nearby the lodge, to get the next part of their journey. They came across a startled group of leisure walkers, whose unseasoned guides were shaky as Mina was ahead on the path. The scourge of the jungle had seated herself in the middle of the walkway. Oman took this moment to shine and took charge of the situation, putting his brazenness on display for all of the other guides; he walked right up to Mina and positioned himself in between the nervous crowd and the known aggressive beast. Oman signalled for the crowd to cross, while he kept her distracted. As they all creeped past her, Mina became aware of them moving past her. She began to follow the crowd, sensing her agitation, Oman ushered everyone to move faster. Sensing the movement, Mina picked up her pace, that’s when Oman gave the cue to run. Snapping into flight mode, the once difficult terrain became a running track for their adrenaline-induced nimble feet, as they sprinted away from Mina. Once they reached safer ground and away from the panicked leisure for-a-day walkers, the crew descended into breathless laughter. Oman downplayed the danger of the situation, as he was overreacting to give a lesson to the still green guides. However, his aged scar still showing across his arm, a sombre reminder of his last encounter with Mina. One had to think about how much that situation was actually overacting, and how close they were to a powerful animal in the wild who has a bone to pick with humans.

Reaching one of the day’s stops, their little resting point was on the bank of a blissful stream flowing into a natural pool nestled among the rocks. Here an unseen side of the rainforest unfolds for its weary travellers. The perfect oasis hidden within the savage beauty of the rainforest.

However, the action packed excitement wasn’t done for the day.

After continuing their walk through the terrain, they found a clear spot to launch the drone. While preparing the gadget for flight, Mina had wandered close by, curious to see what they were doing. Clinging tightly to her was her baby, giving Mina a motherly air, a far cry from the hostile pursuer from hours before. Unsure what to do, Alex asked Oman about launching the drone, his disconnected shrug and “maybe try” reply, didn’t fill him with confidence.

As the drone powered up, the propellers began to whirl filling the air with an unnatural buzz. Mina became defensibly fascinated with drone as it levitated to the skyline. The footage coming to the mini screen on the drone’s controller made the group forget about the presence of Mina nearby. On screen, the drone captured the awe inspiring height of the tower-like trees, as the drone continued to climb it broke above the treetops and the breath-taking view of rolling hills covered in a million hues of green, which went on forever. Clouds picked up the orange highlights of the afternoon sun, as they slowly danced amongst the treetops.

The drone made its way back to group; its mechanic hum broke the natural static noise of the rainforest. Descending the drone spiked Mina’s interest again, becoming agitated she moved closer to the group. Trying to dodge her, landing the drone became a cat-and-mouse game of spooking and angering Mina, as she edged back and forth closer to the drone. Mina then launched into the trees taking an offensive position. Taking this chance to act, Oman grabbed the drone from the sky and then held it between him and the alarmed Mina. Slowly edging his way back, he told everyone to run, they broke into a mad dash to get away from the pursuing animal. After sprinting to out of harm’s way, a breathless laugh was shared among the group again, however more nervous than jovial this time.

The monitor lizard, one of the many diverse fauna of the rainforest

The rest of the day’s walk was filled with Oman’s jests at Gilang’s manhood, which filled up the uneasiness after the adrenaline wore off from being chased twice in one day.

Reaching the campsite brought a sense of relief to the tired crew, who became animated again, after catching the scent of Chef’s cooking. Even though the remote region kept them disconnected from the rest of the world and real life; the world never seemed more real than in those moments of rest. The night brought in a heavy storm, which kept them sheltered inside their huts for the night. From within the makeshift huts, the pitch-black darkness of the landscape was shattered for momentarily blasts of light streaking across the sky after each thunderous clap.

The third day began with the same routine of breakfast and then scaling back into the jungle. The terrain is an unforgiving combination of steep climbs up and shaky crawls down against a maze of tangled roots ready to trip any hikers who don’t stay alert. This day was highly productive by collecting lots of footage and sound samples, while continuing the trek on what was the longest trail yet. The diversity of the animals that inhabited the ecosystem made themselves known; howling gibbons, Thomas-leaf monkeys, hairy caterpillars, soaring eagles and roaming boars all drifted throughout the day. Thick columns of ancient trees were covered in cotton-like moss with multi-coloured mushrooms growing out of it and housed various types of rodents and insects. Butterflies flew everywhere each one seemed to have an entirely different colour and pattern.

Towards the end of the trek, Halim let out a sharp cry. A splinter had pricked his pinky finger, which he quickly dismissed. As they walked on, his finger began to itch and swell, and in a matter of minutes, the swell had climbed up his arm to his face. Through his puffy face, he had trouble breathing and welts began to appear on him. Upon closer inspection, Oman noticed that it wasn’t a splinter but the dried up excrement of a hairy caterpillar causing an allergic reaction. Alex quickly pumped up Halim with the proper medicine needed to make the swelling go down. As the symptoms slightly alleviated, they tried to give him some food, as soon as Bes opened up the bag, an enormous orangutan appeared from behind them. Sumi, one the forest’s most aggressive inhabitants, tracking the scent of the food brought out the predatory instinct of the primate. A nervous jerk from Bes sparked Sumi to dive at them. Sensing this Oman moved between Sumi and the group as they sprinted off. As they ran off, Sumi made for Oman’s ankle and took him down. His companions were momentarily unsure what to do, Oman yelled at them to go on. Moving fast down a highly difficult slope, they quickly got lost without Oman at the lead. Rain started to beat down on the shocked crew. By blind luck they followed the river, and made it to their final campsite. Through a tense time of them waiting for Oman to make it to the camp, Halim slowly got over the debilitating allergic reaction. Finally, Oman was seen limping into the campgrounds, his ankle was severely swollen and quite possibly broken, but was in good spirit to see that they all made it back to camp.

As the final camping ground of the reserve, the site was more like a mini village. All of the jungle’s adventurers accumulated there, for a mix of thrill seekers and nature enthusiasts, with all of the guides hanging out and gossiping about the past few days. Even seasoned jungle veteran Oman admitted that this day was one the hardest he ever had in the rainforest. “Gawat” he said, which is Indonesian slang for this sh** is serious.

The camp was built on the banks of the raging waters of Bohorok, whose menacing presence never seemed more apparent, it serves as the launching point for rafts that ends the trail by sending travellers back to the lodge. The rubber tubes piled up were a reminder of the final leg of the journey, they will have to float down the violent rapids of this powerful river.

The mood during dinner was bitter-sweet, as they felt the accomplishment of completing their trek but also the stirring feeling in their hearts as they knew it was over. This was a surreal moment as they gathered around Alex’s phone in the primitive hut, to watch high definition drone footage of this ancient land. This was a strange symbiotic pairing of using technology to preserve the memory of this vast landscape being threatened by progress. Drone footage of the place they have grown up in, seeing it for the first time from a completely different view.

Their last morning in the jungle was filled with thoughts of the final part of the journey. Rain during the night had raised the already unruly waters of the mighty Bohorok. Unsure if the rapids were safe enough to ride, they had to wait for the right time to go. When the time finally came, they piled all of their bags onto a makeshift raft of four black rubber tubes, a balancing act to fit the crew of six on the raft. However, Oman was unable to captain the raft because of his ankle, so the time came for Gilang to helm the ship. As soon as they disembarked into the mud heavy thrashing rapids of Bohorok, they knew it wasn’t going to go right. Gilang couldn’t handle the current after being thrown back and forth by Bohorok around two of its corners, and they capsized into the rapids. Trashing to get to the sides of the river, they were able set up their raft again. As Gilang still couldn’t handle the waves, they pulled the boat to the sides again. Here Oman took control of the raft, sitting at the front of the vessel with their only remaining oar and possibly broken ankle, he manoeuvred them down the bustling river. Masterly taming Bohorok, they were still thrown from side to side and nearly smashed along its rocky banks. Using the only oar they have, he navigated the raft. As they were getting close the end of the rapids, an ear-piercing crack came from the front of the raft as the oar split into two in Oman’s hands. Luckily, he was able to still direct the raft towards the end of the rapids. After they got over that last hump of Bohorok’s wrath, the rest of the ride was smooth sailing until the lodge. The sturdy ground never felt so good, as they got off the raft and bid farewell to Bohorok.

Their tired bodies pushed forward with the sense of accomplishment for surviving the awesome power of the rainforests’ ferocious beauty and collecting some priceless imagery and sound for the next Rainforest Pavilion.

Alex Joy and Halim Ardie - DJs in the Jungle

Dj's in the Jungle