In August we were joined again by the Dissolva group from Japan. They had helped at the beginning of construction of the Bio-Cultural Heritage building, and returned this year to help with some additions. Nurfilzah Jamjam writes about their stay in Kg Buayan.

The group is called Dissolva. It is an abbreviation of Diverse and Sustainable Solution-Seeking Voluntary Action. Coming far away from Japan, this group share their love and passion for sustainable living, while also helping out a good cause- voluntary in Buayan. Remember the Bio-Cultural Heritage Centre? Yes, that one.

While in Buayan, they helped building a toilet, plastering a bio-crete wall and weaving a bamboo window/wall panel. Having no experience in building work, these kind of tasks are not as easy as we (architecture background people) might think it is. Collecting gravel and sand from the river, carrying it across the hanging bridge, digging a 1.7 metre deep hole for septic tank, stripping bamboo and cleaning them for weaving are just a few of the jobs they sweated over.

But overall it is a great fun! The group also got experience of collecting veggies, going fishing and preparing dinner and lunch, Dusun style- yeah, everyday!

It is astounding (at least for me) to see how people coming from different region and different cultures share and spend their time learning about each other. Of course there’s an awkward moment, a confused look and the ‘aaaa’ and ‘what’ situation, but it’s funny in a beautiful way. You know by then that languages aren’t really a barrier to communication.

So that how me and the group spent our ten days in Buayan. It was a vacation where we learnt, we built and tried to make a difference to create a sustainable world. Yeah, i know. It’s baby steps!

Oh, and their names are Futa, Kitaro, Chieko, Mariko, Yu, Tsukuru, Hiro, Saya, Cathy, Marina, Rieka, Kurumi, Demu, Kataken, Ko, Fuyuko, Ben and their best lecturer Dr. Shinobu Majima. Cheers.