Hymeir Kamarudin of Earth Lodge knew from the start that the nature tours he ran were subject to the health of the forest. Here’s how he plans on keeping it wild.
Photo by Hymeir Kamarudin
With the rising interest in responsible tourism, travellers are now looking for new ways of engaging with nature and wildlife. Operators including hoteliers, naturalists, tour guides, and agents all need to ensure that local tourism takes account of the capacity and integrity in an area – in other words, ensuring that the maximum number of visitors and the activities conducted in an area does not cause lasting damage to the ecosystem.
This is illustrated in this spotlight on Earth Lodge Malaysia, a humble series of ecolodges which immerses curious visitors in some of the country’s most wild and untouched rainforest. Its founder Hymeir Kamarudin is continuously mesmerised by the beauty and wonders of the Ulu Muda forest reserve. His deep connection with the forest grew over time, as he moved from being a regular visitor, to activist, and then as director of Earth Lodge.
A conservationist at heart who regularly hosts both domestic and international tourists, Hymeir understands the part his business plays in maintaining balance between the needs of tourists and wildlife in the area. He strongly advocates for low-impact approaches for ethical wildlife watching, sustainable travel, and low-impact accommodation.
Managing an ecolodge in the middle of dense rainforest, 14 km from the nearest road poses many challenges. But Hymeir’s values and efforts demonstrate that this approach has been not only sustainable from a business perspective, it ensures the future of the forest ecosystem for generations to come.
He finds he now has a regular stream of visitors, willing to forgo creature comforts for the joy of encountering wild creatures hiding in the rainforest.
Disconnecting from the daily grind, reconnecting to nature in paradise
Earth Lodge ensures that the site retains its isolated and tranquil feel by encouraging guests to embrace the disconnection from their daily lives.
Many guests arrive at Lake Muda jetty having departed from large airports, bustling cities or towns, only to be confronted by a fairly barren spot populated by one temporary floating jetty and a handful of fishing boats. Although minimal, the area is sufficiently outfitted with two local restaurants, a fish market, and a small forestry management centre.
“The first thing we decided was that we wanted small numbers of guests. Deciding to bring guests in by boat was a no brainer. We’ve been doing it for years and we’ve always enjoyed the boat ride. We were sure guests would feel the same. We use small open wooden boats hired from the local villagers allowing guests to see more and giving them the feeling of adventure as the boats navigate through the lake and up the sometimes shallow Muda River! A road trip can’t offer the same experience.”
– Hymeir
Choosing to arrive by boat also eliminates the need to build a road to the Lodge. A road would damage essential ecosystems like the salt licks and vegetation, and would probably enable easy access to the forest by poachers. The boats also give visitors an insight into the life of the local fishermen who are also Earth Lodge guides.
Even as guests board the few fishing boats on the water, there is a feeling of transition—leaving behind the noise and stress in the hour boat ride upstream. It is a reminder to travellers: here is a special time to confront our real selves in the wild—and operators are realising more and more that these are sustainability benefits both to nature and their businesses.
Low impact activities limit damage to ecosystems
Lake Muda winding through the forest of Ulu Muda Rainforest. Photo by The Habitat Foundation
A lush and remote tropical rainforest which spans approximately 160,000 hectares, Ulu Muda is home to some of Malaysia’s natural treasures. Hymeir and his team have navigated and mapped specific trails which give guests unique insight into the area whilst limiting damage. These include exploring the jungle trails, rivers, limestone hills and caves, and unique salt licks during their stay.
Trips are guided by the local boatmen and Hymeir, giving guests a personalised and richly informative experience through their local knowledge. Hymeir emphasises local knowledge and storytelling, the names of birds in English and Malay, and what they sound like using a collection of downloaded bird calls.
He emphasises that seeing animals is not the only way to find them! By relating their sound to behaviours and interesting stories to create connections with the visitor’s own experience, Hymeir relates the knowledge more powerfully to the visitor. Note: Hymeir is careful to ensure the bird call recordings are played softly so as not to affect the wildlife—see our guide on ethical birding.
Managing resources for low impact stays
From having its own electrical generator and solar electrical system, to using locally sourced handmade bedding material, guests stay at Earth Lodge knowing they are doing little harm to the surrounding environment.
This small ecolodge has only eight rooms and three dorms, proving that cosy and comfortable stays do not have to create lots of waste or negatively impact the surrounding environment.
Photo by Earth Lodge
Hymeir promotes the use of local businesses for the purchase of resources. One local friend, a skilled carpenter, carved the Earth Lodge sign from upcycled tembusu (Cyrtophyllum fragrans) wood and made clothes hangers out of wood collected from the surrounding forest and old packing crates. The kapok (Ceiba pentandra) fibre bedding used in the lodge is handmade by women from the village, the best kind of breathable and drying material for the humid and moist conditions of rainforests. It also ensures less synthetic fibres and microplastics damage the rainforest ecosystem. Hymeir asks guests to bring biodegradable or all-natural toiletries in line with this approach.
All of these touches demonstrate the alignment to ethical and sustainable values, whilst also improving livelihoods of the local community.
Memorable meals and moments
Hymeir encourages guests to learn more about the history and the wildlife during their stay. Guests often spend time hanging out at The Makan Place, a spacious communal dining area, and the adjoining Ronn’s Corner, an outdoor patio. These spaces are the main focal points for guests to socialise and search the ample reference materials about the wildlife made available there.
Food served at The Makan Place is cooked by local guides and boatmen who double as chefs at Earth Lodge. The local meals like sweet-and-sour tilapia and nasi goreng (translates to ‘fried rice’) are sourced locally, prepared at the Earth Lodge kitchen, and served fresh.
Food and waste are not left between trips so as not to attract wildlife—the elephants have literally taken down walls of the kitchen to reach in for salts, rice, eggs, and other foods in the past!
By ensuring all staff and guests understand how their behaviour impacts the forest, Hymeir indirectly encourages them to reflect on their lifestyles and how easy it actually can be to make choices that better the environment. Hymeir sees longer term benefits from this education of guests, especially return visitors who embody the principles they have learnt.
The villagers from Kampung Belantik are often hired for chartering guests to and from
Earth Lodge using their boats. Many are fishermen whom Earth Lodge purchases fish
for serving to guests. Photo by Ethan Pang.
The forest teaches us how to live
Core to the Earth Lodge business, wildlife watching remains on the top of the list of guest experiences.
Activities include:
- Trekking to Gua Labu
A newly discovered hill (2006) that has not been seen on any land use map!
- Trekking to the Tualang trees (Koompassia excelsa)
View some of the tallest trees in the forest, which are home to the Asian giant honey bee (Apis dorsata). Locals climb these trees to harvest honey only on moonless nights to minimise the number of flying bees after the nest is disturbed.
Tualang trees that can be found in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
Photo by The Habitat Foundation.
- Visit to the salt lick areas
These are special areas where concentrations of essential minerals are found–, mostly leached out from surrounding rocks—attract a wide range of herbivores. A special saltlick is Sira Ayer Panas or Hot Spring Salt lick where apart from essential minerals, it also has a hot spring where very hot water are pushed up to the surface through geothermal activity.
With salt licks in abundance, Ulu Muda is home to megafauna such as Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus),barking deer (Cervus muntjak), Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Photo by Ethan Pang.
- River cruise
Drift quietly downstream at dawn or dusk with the local guides and be amazed by the natural green scenery that is teeming with wildlife! Home to more than 117 species of mammals and 337 species of birds, Hymeir teaches guests to use their senses to find wildlife. Despite the density of rainforest foliage that can hide animals even the size of elephants, Hymeir encourages travellers to listen carefully, even smell scents of flora, to reconnect ourselves with the forest around us.
Hymeir shares that the original name of the River Cruise was once Wildlife Cruise. He eventually changed it to encourage his guest to take on a more appreciative approach to the experience, rather than being fixated on guaranteed wildlife sightings.
This is important for many operators who are concerned that they need to feed animals to ensure that visitors get to see them. Doing so is bending nature to our will, and can have long term detrimental effects on animal behaviours that become dependent on human activity.
By educating visitors, Hymeir ensures they have a full appreciation of the whole ecosystem, enjoy looking for clues or embracing the noise of the forest, rather than treating it like a zoo.
Ulu Muda is one of two places in Malaysia where all 10 of Malaysia’s hornbill species are found.
Guests can also observe the plain-pouched hornbills flying in squadrons every late afternoon
during their migratory season. Photo by Earth Lodge.
Earth Lodge’s guides bring in a wider view about the importance of the forest to its surrounding areas. This includes it acting as a water source to Kedah’s rice fields and communities, including that of Penang island. The guides also take it upon themselves to bring awareness to the threats the forest is facing like sand mining and logging, activities that are a source of economy for local businesses.
Dr Ahmad Zafir from The Habitat Foundation who volunteers his time with Earth Lodge in guiding visitors, agrees with this approach and strongly emphasises on the importance of education during the guided tour.
“We have to make it a point to really educate the guests coming in. If not, we’ll lose what is so precious to us.”
– Dr. Ahmad
As human activities put the delicate harmony of the forest ecosystem at risk, it is as important for travellers to fall in love with the unique landscapes and ecosystems, like Ulu Muda rainforest, as it is for them to be reminded that their actions can shape the future of places like these.
Operators like Hymeir and his Earth Lodge team demonstrate it is possible to keep guests coming by reconnecting them to the wider story of a place, and emphasising everyone’s role in maintaining its integrity.
Find out more about Ulu Muda: Friends of Ulu Muda
Visit this incredible forest and experience low-impact travel: Earth Lodge Malaysia
Read more from Hymeir and Dr Ahmad: Tips on Ethical Wildlife Tours
Writers: Chrissy Lind-Hunter (The Habitat Foundation), Rebecca Chin (The Habitat Foundation), Adeline Chua (ANTARA Lab)
Contributors: Hymeir Kamarudin (Earth Lodge Malaysia), Dr Ahmad Zafir (The Habitat Foundation), Ethan Pang (The Habitat Foundation)
Location: Kedah Type: Forests GSTC Type: Hotels & Accommodation Sustainable Tourism Malaysia Commitments Focus:
Global Sustainable Tourism Council Performance Indicators for Hotels & Accommodation: A7.2 Impact and integrity …take account of the capacity and integrity of the natural and cultural surroundings. A7.2.2. Site selection, design and access have taken account of the protection of biologically sensitive areas and the assimilative capacity of ecosystems. A7.2.4.The integrity and connectivity of natural sites and protected areas has been preserved. A7.2.5.Threatened or protected species have not been displaced and impact on all wildlife habitats has been minimised and mitigated. |