Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ability to wrangle government investments and subsidies. For an excellent 'profile' of the
Kelabits by Dr Poline Bala, a Bario-born anthropologist, see
www.unimas.my/ebario/
community.html
.
There's more information on Bario and the Kelabits, some of it out-of-
date, at
www.kelabit.net
and on Facebook - see
www.kelabit.org
.
THE 'EBARIO MODEL'
Bario has produced some remarkable leaders, including local councillor John Tarawe, CEO of the award-winning
internet initiative
eBario
(
www.unimas.my/ebario
and
www.ebario.org
)
, who is much sought after around the
world by groups (eg the UNDP) that are interested in 'community mobilisation' among indigenous groups. His ef-
forts to plug the Highlands into the internet (even in remote villages he'd like the children to grow up 'IT savvy')
and establish a hugely popular community radio station,
Radio Tauh
(94MHz FM; 7.30-9am or 10am &
7-9pm or 10pm Mon-Sat)
, have been so groundbreaking that NGOs on distant continents are adopting the 'eBario
model'.
BARIO
POP 800
The 'capital' of the Highlands, Bario consists of about a dozen 'villages' - each with its
own church - spread over a beautiful valley, much (though less and less) of it given over
to growing the renowned local rice. Some of the appeal lies in the mountain climate (the
valley is 1500m above sea level) and splendid isolation (the only access is by air and tor-
turous 4WD track), but above all it's the unforced hospitality of the Kelabit people that
will quickly win you over. An amazing number of travellers find themselves extending
their stays in Bario by days, weeks or even years. Do yourself a favour and get stuck here
for a while!
Before the Konfrontasi, Bario consisted of only one small longhouse, but in 1963 resid-
ents of longhouses near the frontier fled raids by Indonesian troops and settled here for
safety.
Except for a few places powered by a small hydroelectric dam and by photovoltaic cells
(a large solar farm is planned), Bario has electricity - provided by private generators -
only in the evening. It's hard to imagine life in hyper-social Bario without the mobile
phone, a technology unknown in these parts until 2009.
