Homestay with a Bidayuh Village Family in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Saloma Gaguk grew up as one of ten children born to parents who worked a small farm on the hillsides of the Borneo jungle, as the Bidayuh people have done for generations.

As a child, she raced up jungle trees in games and to pick fruit for family meals; learned what's edible and what isn't; which plants have medicinal properties and how to prepare what she picked.

As a young woman fresh out of university, she had the vision to invite people to come live with her family to learn about the Bidayuh culture.  She took on the renovation of her father's home to start Saloma's Village Stay.  

Perhaps a bit green in the community development area, she initially met with opposition from her fellow villagers who went so far as to blockade the road to the house to keep out the strangers.

Saloma learned quickly.  After employing much of her family, she offered as many jobs as she could to the villagers to participate in her business.  She decorated the house with crafts that locals had made.  She encourages women of the village to make handicrafts and to have them available for sale.  The person with the mini-mart can benefit from stocking items that guests might want and local farmers can benefit as she buys eggs and other supplies for her kitchen.

Our arrival early Friday afternoon is held up by a lorry loaded with children.  Boarding school is out for the weekend.  Kids are saying goodbye to their friends and at the same time are hopping with excitement to be going home to their families.  

The school here serves children from four villages.  Children in Saloma's village are not allowed to live in the boarding school.  Having children in boarding school allows parents who are subsistence farmers to work long hours during the week.  Sunday before the children go back is family day.  Something seems to be done right at this school as the girls recall their friends being happy during those years.

  To get to Saloma's house we must traverse a typical bridge made of two bamboo poles and supporting structures.  I gradually learn to trust the strength of bamboo.  These bridges may have to be replaced as often as once a year.

We realize that we cannot take a photo of the home as it is completely surrounded by jungle.

The main floor of the home has the kitchen and a large dining area that many people can sit around and there is always coffee or tea available.   Sleeping quarters for the family are here.  There's also a relaxing or visiting area.  The two young boys of the home have lots of room to run and play on this level. 

Upstairs in addition to the bedrooms and shared bathrooms, there are many comforts including inside and outside lounge areas with chairs, couches and hammocks, a library, and some games.  There is no satellite TV, no radio, no internet and cell service at one bar that really doesn't work. 

 I would love to see the process where bamboo is split to be made into wall coverings.

We are taken on a walk through the village to get our bearings and see some landmarks, then are free to roam it on our own.  First, we go down from Saloma's hilltop then climb up to the village.

Today as we hike through the village with Selena (one of Saloma's sisters), villagers wave to us and come out for a chat.  People are now proud of what Saloma has done for their village.

Little houses for bees have been made and are scattered throughout the village.  We are surprised at how very tiny the bees are.

We can't resist buying a small woven object from this woman in her nineties who sits so comfortably on the floor doing her work.

We also stop by the school which everyone is proud of.  If it was any other day of the week, we'd drop by a classroom to say hi to the kids.

The new auditorium

I'm not really fond of many of the stairs we've seen 

Where to go to prep for a math test

The school also houses a rice thresher (or separator) that is available for anyone in the community to come and use.

The Bidayuh are known as the makers of the finest rice wine.  Saloma's family prefers to eat or sell their rice.  Some people also make a hooch or moonshine from rice.  On our walk through the village, a cousin gives Paul a taste.  We pass on buying any as we are leaving in two days.

Cousin's house

We also stop by a traditional Bidayuh longhouse and learn about its structure.  Because of the mountainous terrain where the Bidayuh live, their longhouses are amongst the smallest of the tribal people who live in Sarawak.  Some longhouses are large enough to house an entire village.

So, it is a house that is longer than it is wide with sections (or apartments) for families next to each other along the length.  But there are also layers to the house from front to back.  There is a completely uncovered deck first.  This could be for drying rice in the sun or for

 having some plants in pots.  There might be storage of outdoor equipment.

Then there is a covered outdoor area.  Here is some seating.  The rice storage bin is safe here, as are the rolls of leaves that can be used for plates when guests come.  A place for an outdoor fire.  Outdoor fires are useful as the smoke rises to the wood pillars and roof and kills any termites that could be present.  Cooking outdoors keeps food smells out of the house.

Then there is the first area inside the door of the house.  There could be a bit of a kitchen or storage area here.  Then deeper inside the house is where people sleep.  At this particular longhouse, there is room for three families and the last two units are taken by elderly neighbours.

Back at the house family members come and go, each seems to have specific jobs, but can also cover each other off.  All of them do an excellent job in such a relaxed and natural way.  Saloma has been approached to do this on a bigger scale but she refuses.  Her goal is to keep it small and personal, and it works.

There are a range of activities to choose from and a variety of lengths of stay.  When we are there two young daughters of a family decide that they must go fishing.  Two sisters quickly pack some snacks, gather up traditional nets and traps, and head to the river.  Fish for dinner.

On the night we are there, Uncle Andy drops by.  He has just finished a day hand-picking mountain rice (no one here uses knives or mechanical devices to get the rice) at his farm and comes with a sack of it to give us a lesson.  He lays out a rattan mat, pours out the plant material then jumps on it with his bare feet.  I join him and we dance the twist together.  When he is satisfied that stems and leaves are mostly separated from the rice the dancing stops.  The stems, etc are carefully gathered up to be used as compost on his farm.  The rice goes in a separate sack and on a day when a light breeze is just right he'll put the rice into a scoop woven by Saloma's mother.  Tossing the rice in the scoop lets the breeze take away the husks.

This is a good year for rice.  It will fetch 10 MYR/kilo at the market.  That's $3.17 CAD for a lot of work.

Three meals a day come from the small kitchen.  Each meal has at least 5 different dishes for us to try.  We recognize the fruits and vegetables that were pointed out to us on jungle hikes.  The family eats mostly what they harvest from the jungle, some fish, and rarely some wild boar or python.  There is a great variety of herbs that can flavour their food.  They can buy chicken and eggs from fellow villagers if they choose.

The two crops mainly grown on the small, steep hillside farms are mountain rice and pineapple.  Its rice harvest time and early every morning Saloma's mom (in her sixties) gets up and hikes to the farm where she handpicks rice all day by herself in 30+ degree, humid weather.

The rainy season drags on this year.  There are about seven different waterfalls in the jungle that we can hike to but we can only go to one a half-hour hike away due to the danger of mudslides.

On the way to the waterfall, we pass one of the bigger rice fields.  Neighbours help each other when the rice is ready.  There are lots of volunteers in this field.

Rice ready to harvest

Salena, one of Saloma's sisters, a young nephew, and the family dogs take us to the waterfall.

Another bridge to cross before we get to the falls.

None of us swim on this day.

In the photo below Salena demonstrates how village children would frighten their parents by soaking a certain red leaf in water, then ringing it out over their bodies, while yelling.  Amazing how much it looks like blood.

Again on the way to and from the waterfall Salena points out plants that the family uses on a regular basis.  What is surprising to me is that all of these plants are now on the edge of the jungle.  People don't have to trek deep into the jungle to get most of what they need.  The soil everywhere is rich.  Someone planted something years ago and it continues to bear food.  Everyone is welcome to take what they need.  No one claims a plant or a tree as their own.

I made a list of what I could remember both Greg and Salena showing us on various walks.  I know I missed many things.  The diet is primarily vegetarian.  Occasionally someone might kill a wild boar and that meat is available.  Some people raise chickens.  A very few people may eat a monkey on a rare occasion.  Sandwich meat is available in the market.

Visiting here was an enriching experience.  We are in awe of the knowledge these people hold of all that surrounds them; of how they embrace ancient knowledge alongside all that school, books and other lifestyles have to offer.  We recommend this homestay to anyone heading to Sarawak.  Here is a link to the website: Saloma Village Home Stay

This business has allowed Saloma a rich lifestyle.  She spends time with her beloved family, in the jungle that she loves so much, and has the income to travel ... for she is a traveler at heart.  She searches out homestays in remote places to see what she can learn from others to continuously improve her own business.  Much time around the table is swapping travel stories.

A photo of Saloma from her website:

Random Photos

A non-edible fern

Saloma's brother Greg demonstrating the machete

Grasshopper

Covering jack fruit to encourage ripening

A special type of long lemon

Pineapple Farm

The beautiful red and green little birds above are captured by one villager to be taken into town to be sold as pets.  After searching the internet, I believe these to be Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots, probably all male.

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Hibiscus - national flower of Malaysia