Nek Doyan

Nek Doyan is a logging-dominated village. Most men here earn a living by logging, and the only other major village income source is durian. Durian season comes one month per year (December), which makes logging the main activity for the majority of the year. Our host in Nek Doyan is a Muslim hunter, and his wife. Their house is dank and dark, and compared to the other places we’ve stayed not the nicest atmosphere. But the people are nice and the food is good, so I can’t complain too loudly. A medium-sized river runs behind the house, thus only a few steps to the place to bathe and wash clothes.

In the field today my teammate and I visited many, many, durian gardens. In case you don’t know, durian is a tropical fruit that is very expensive and smells like poo. Some people love the taste of durian, and others hate it. Durian trees in the region where I am working can be huge, more than 50 meters tall and over 100 cm DBH. These large trees were planted by the ancestors of the people who now live in the village, and were handed down from father to son (or daughter) so that the same family has harvested durian from the same trees for decades. The trees can be very close to the housing area, or as much as a two-hour walk away. I’m very sad I can’t be in the region during durian season (I’m in the “love durian” camp) but perhaps next year…