By Simon Feather

Simon Feather interned with Arkitrek on the SAFE Project from June 2013 to April 2014. This week he returns home to Hull. Simon, thank you for all your effort and contributions over the last year.

A one year internship in the Borneo jungle is the best experience I have ever had. Constantly surrounded by nature, experiencing a completely different culture, living in isolation and with more simplicity.

However, one thing I always knew I would have to face up to was the rapid loss in weight. During this year in the jungle my body would turn to skin and bones. As a man, this is a terrifying thought. I’m dreading the humiliation of being the weaker, skinnier one out of my group of friends now I am returning home. I set about trying to prevent this but quickly learnt that the truth is: you can’t stay ‘buff on rice and cabbage’.

Firstly, there is no gym in the jungle. Anything that was needed had to be created.

Living in the middle of the jungle brings numerous problems with food. Cabbage and rice became the main substance to the diets of those living at the camp. It was a 3 hour drive to the nearest town and therefore it was not possible to bring food in every day. Electricity was only available from 6-12pm which made it difficult to keep fresh food edible. When fresh food did arrive it would be met by many malnourished mouths and would not last more than a couple of days.

The extreme heat and humidity of the rainforest makes you never want to do anything other than lie in a hammock.

However, with just a few tree trunks and some concrete, the recently opened jungle gym has everything you need to perform Squats, Deadlift, Pull ups, Chest press, Shoulder press and Reverse pulls. These compound movements work all those major muscle groups.

Advice for any future gym makers…

1. Make sure you judge how much concrete you can lift correctly otherwise your hard work goes unused
2. If you don’t measure the amount of water you add to your concrete mix before you pour it into the dumbbell mould each side will be different weights.

Future Arkitrek interns and PHD applicants for the SAFE project, do not fear everything you need is already installed!