I’ve long maintained that the forests are the source of our complexity, and that each of us carry the forests within us.  When we destroy the forests, we destroy part of ourselves. Roy Garner, writer / poet.

Imagine forests that educate your children, feed your community and for generations define and inspire your culture.

Sarawak, along with Sabah, is a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. It is home to over 40 different sub-ethnic groups.

Many native communities, such as the Iban, Penan, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah and Saban are still dependent on the remaining forests that they live in. However, they are under increasing pressure to leave or surrender their customary lands to forestry industries, palm oil plantations or dams.

Like the forests they inhabit and have been custodians to for generations, Sarawak’s native groups may also perish, along with their traditions, countless generations of cultural knowledge, their dignity and their rights.

Those that have already lost access to their customary lands and rights are finding uncertainty and cultural poverty the legacy their children will inherit.

Sarawak Gone explores the struggles of the Bidayuh of Upper Bengoh and the Penan of Ulu Baram.

Sarawak Gone is a micro-docs series raising awareness to the gradual decimation of the indigenous life and culture of Sarawak, the struggle to maintain customary right to land and the rapidly decreasing habitats that are also home to countless protected and endangered flora and fauna.

Presented by producer, artist and former OPEN CHANNEL Program Director, Andrew Garton, the series explores two communities, the Bidayuh and the Penan, located at near either end of the state and draws on over 20 years of Garton’s support for social justice projects there.

In addition, Sarawak Gone, furthers the work of global commons and open content practitioners in advancing the use of open content licenses in video and media production in general.

This site acts as home base for the core content of the micro-docs series published, where applicable, under an Attribution only Creative Commons license. It will include scripts, transcripts, select video footage, photos, sounds, music and the micro-docs themselves. Read Garton’s rational for the use of the Attribution only license.

Each episode is published with a synopsis providing information on the content and scope of the episode alongside a full post-production script.

Sarawak Gone tells the stories of Sarawak’s forest communities through multiple mediums to the widest possible audience.