By Ian Hall Semai Sayang (to sow love) is a social enterprise where an animal friendly retreat, dog lodging and organic orchard will subsidise animal welfare advocacy and the use of specially trained animals for therapy and companionship. The project will also support research and testing of sustainable buildings, infrastructure and agriculture. Partnerships with local and overseas universities and organisations are being built to design and monitor performance of elements of the project and to share what we learn. Arkitrek...

Photos by Sue Chong-Hartley, Text by Ian Hall “We need an ayam jantan bertaji, don’t forget the taji. Taji is important!” Sue instructed me. At first she had asked Wai Pak to help find the cockerel but as a conscientious Buddhist he didn’t want to be complicit in killing an animal. Normally the supply of sacrificial cockerels is not one of my professional services but I liked the idea of the story that I could tell afterward. The Taji is the heel spur or claw that you only find on cockerels; they are an important...

Our proposal for a Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Borneo has moved closer to reality thanks to an extravagant Fundraising Dinner held in Kota Kinabalu in November. The event which was organised by our partner LEAP succeeded in raising over half a million ringgit. This money was then matched one-to-one by the State Government to give us a total which we hope will be enough to build Phase One. The first priority is to enclose 1 hectare of the Sepilok Forest Reserve with electric fences. This will allow a controlled release...

In Sabah I am working on the design of a Sun Bear Conservation Centre, but is it really a conservation centre? In the course of my research for this project, a prominent conservationist suggested to me that its function was likely to focus on animal welfare. This got me wondering. Where is the boundary between wildlife conservation and animal welfare? As man continues to encroach on natural habitats, more endangered species end up in our care. The dilemma we face is the balance between providing a good home for displaced...

Above is a concept design image for a sun bear conservation centre proposed adjacent to the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary at Sandakan in Sabah. Juvenile sun bears are undeniably cute and the adults are very handsome. Fully grown they would be a little above my knee in height, although rearing on hind legs they can be much more intimidating. Regrettably I have only seen them behind bars. The closest I have come to a wild sun bear was when I heard one raiding the kitchen during the night at Agathis Camp in Maliau Basin. Sun...