Text and Photos by Jamie Ross Two months after applying for an Arkitrek internship I found myself on a plane to Borneo. Having little idea of what was in store other than words of warning about the dangers of rice wine I couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive about the next 3 months. Fortunately these initial fears soonpassed as I was welcomed into the folds of the Arkitrek and Camps International family. As with Eoghan and Olly before me, my home for the duration was to be Tinangol village and my objective to push...

By Oliver Wilson Ed: Oliver is the second Arkitrek Intern to work with Camps International in Sabah. His role was to detail design and construction manage a community kindergarten project. He worked with local craftsmen and volunteer tourists to keep the project on track and maintain high standards. You can see some of Oliver's work here. A big challenge for Oliver, as with all Interns who come to work in Sabah, is to adapt to the local culture. Allow Oliver to explain Before I came to Tinangol, I wasn’t sure what to expect,...

This is our proposal for a community kindergarten at Kg Tinagol in the North of Sabah. It will be built by staff and volunteers from Camp Tinangol, a community tourism program operated by the locals with support from Camps International. There are a number of innovations in the construction which respond to sustainable design questions. Design by: Ian Hall, Eoghan Hoare and Oliver Wilson All Images by Oliver Wilson The community's brief was for a three classroom kindergarten on the bottom and a community hall...

Text and Photos by Eoghan Hoare Galons of RICEWINE…. Hours of BEACH VOLLEYBALL… 2 KINDERGARDENS & 1 dodgy HARDWARE store later......!!! Ed. Eoghan Hoare was the first Arkitrek Volunteer to be placed with our partner Camps International in Borneo. His job was to help design and build two community kindergartens; one at Tinangol and the other at Mantanani. Eoghan has helped raise the bar on these projects both in construction quality and design innovation. He has also become an unwitting ambassador for Co Cork in Kudat,...

You will recall from my earlier post that we have been building a biogas digester at Camp Tinangol with Camps International. The aim of this prototype was to test whether a biogas digester could be built using unskilled labour, such as gap year students on a Camps International trip. We based our design on the well documented Deenbandhu model with a ferro-cement fixed dome for storing gas under water pressure. Camps International are also working with us on a second digester at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre...