1/13/2016
Saving the Rainforest with a Stethoscope?
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Saving the Rainforest with a
Stethoscope?
Written by: Alison Pace
2015/11/19 3:00 PM
Almost ten years ago, Hotlin Ompusunggu, a dentist by profession, joined forces with
two other women, physician Kinari Webb and conservationist, Antonia Gorog to start
something which was to have a profound impact on communities and the surrounding
forests of Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan.
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Gunung Palung National Park : Rainforest with one of the highest biodiversities in the
world, and the watershed for more than 65,000 people.
The trio spent 2006 going into the villages and asking the people how they could help them
preserve the forest. Everyone said they needed affordable medical care, because that was the
huge unavoidable expense causing people to cut down dozens of trees to earn immediate
cash. So in 2007 the ladies opened the ASRI (Alam Sehat Lestari) Clinic, and by 2015 it had
served more than 25,000 individual patients. NOW! Jakarta caught up with one of ASRI’s
founders, Hotlin Ompusunggu to find out more about their work.
ASRI claims that human health and environmental health are inextricably linked. Can
you explain why?
There are studies showing the positive health impacts of trees in the local environment, not
only on air quality but also on people’s mental outlook. In a tropical environment such as
Indonesia, forest loss affects the water cycle, causing both drought and flooding — increasing
the incidence of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. And at a global level, the forests
absorb massive amounts of CO2, acting as the lungs of the planet. In addition, the biodiversity
of the rain forest is a precious resource that has only begun to be researched for potential
medical innovations.
http://nowjakarta.co.id/saving-the-rainforest-with-a-stethoscope/
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The park is home to an estimated 10% of the world’s orangutans.
If you want a clear example, look no further than the haze choking the air in Kalimantan,
Sumatra and throughout Southeast Asia. The burning forest is an environmental tragedy and
a public health disaster. The particulate matter from the smoke is harmful for the developing
lungs of infants and small children, and exacerbates the suffering of those already facing
respiratory illnesses like asthma and tuberculosis. If the fires continue in this vein, our clinic
doctors believe that much of the population in our district will be at risk of developing chronic
obstructive pulmonary disorder and other respiratory ailments in the future.
Tell us more about ASRI’s healthcare programmes.
The ASRI Clinic has an incentive system, so that people can get up to a 70% discount when
they protect the forest near their village. Health care is the integral part of our conservation
effort. Beside this discount, the community can also pay for this high-quality health care with
non-cash payment options, such as seedlings or manure, that we use to support our
reforestation efforts and sustainable farming training. People don’t have to cut down trees to
pay for medical bills as they did before, especially for emergencies.
ASRI’s mobile clinic serves remote communities, travelling over 6 hours over rough terrain.
We also run a mobile clinic, to reach villages hours away over bad roads (and sometimes by
boat as well). And we have a four-wheel-drive ambulance to bring patients to the Clinic or to
transfer them to the nearest hospital (two hours away). Our Indonesian doctors work in
constant consultation with volunteer attending physicians who come for several months at a
time from top American medical schools. So our quality of medical care is the best in the
region.
In addition, we train community health workers to administer TB treatment in their villages
(with 100% compliance!), and we train local midwives in best medical practices. In our first five
years, immunizations increased by 25%, and serious disease symptoms all decreased by 50-
http://nowjakarta.co.id/saving-the-rainforest-with-a-stethoscope/
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Saving the Rainforest with a Stethoscope?
60% or more.
ASRI also trains local farmers in organic farming. Can you tell us about some of the
organic farming techniques that you have introduced and their benefits over slash-andburn agriculture?
The most basic organic farming technique is to improve the soil using non-chemical means,
especially composted organic waste. We were surprised to learn that this was an unfamiliar
practice in this area. In traditional slash-and-burn farming, the farmer cuts down the trees on
a plot of land and burns them, creating ash that enriches the soil. But the nutrients in the soil
are depleted within a couple of years, forcing farmers to clear a new patch of forest.
With an increasing population, this practice quickly decimates a forested area and prevents it
from ever growing back. Our trainees learn to make organic fertilizers and organic pesticides
from livestock manure and other easily obtainable local materials. The wonderful part is that
they can produce a surplus of fertilizer and sell it to increase their income. One of our partner
farmers recently sold three tons of fertilizer to the district government, doubling his monthly
income. We are also working to build an organic produce cooperative, to market organic
agricultural products throughout the district.
ASRI teaches sustainable farming, to increase households’ income while improving family
nutrition.
Organic farming is also a great alternative livelihood for loggers, as it requires very little startup costs since they don’t have to buy expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Our data
shows that farming is the new occupation of choice for over 50% of all loggers in the
landscape who have quit logging.
Any upcoming projects?
We are actually building a hospital that will help our communities in so many ways – allowing
our doctors to treat more patients, providing basic diagnostics and surgery, and having better
training and lab facilities. We are calling it the Community Hospital and Training Centre,
because eventually we hope it will also serve as a place for conservationists to come for
training in working with local communities to preserve the environment.
http://nowjakarta.co.id/saving-the-rainforest-with-a-stethoscope/
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Patients can pay their medical bills with tree seedlings, used for reforestation. Healthy
people; healthy forests!
How can NOW! Jakarta readers help?
Learn more about our work and be inspired! There are lots of ways you can help, and we all
together can make a difference. Donations go a long way in this small organization! Please
visit our website and also our partner organization in the United States, Health In Harmony.
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