MESCOT Initiative – Basic Information Brief
Batu Puteh Community of the Lower Kinabatangan
The Initiative was established to create sustainable and alternative sources of income for the local
indigenous people of the four villages of the Batu Puteh Community of the Lower Kinabatangan.
Established in March 1997 the initiative was led by village youth from all four villages who
volunteered there time to plan and establish community owned ecotourism activities. Among other
things the volunteers documented traditional indigenous knowledge and aural history and began
detailed studies of the seven different types of rainforest which surround the community.
In 1998 the olunteers spearheaded forest fire fighting in the nearby forests saving orangutan and
allowing numerous other wildlife species to escape to safety. Since that time the project adopted a
second key objective to intervene immediately to restore degraded rainforest habitat and wetland
ecosystems. By 1999 the group had secured funds to start forest habitat restoration, the work of
which has been ongoing since that time. In 2000 the Initiative started its first fledgling ecotourism
activities based on a village homestay program called Miso Walai Homestay, which has been
ongoing side-by-side the direct conservation work since that time. In 2003 the village tourism
associations joined together to form a community co-operative which coordinates all the
conservation activities and community ecotourism activities.
KOPEL Bhd: MESCOT Initiative: PPM 538 Elopura, 90000, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
View Website: www.mescot.org or Contact Email: tinjau@tm.net.my
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