Reintroducing Sumatran orangutans to the wild is the original main activity of PanEco. The reason they are endangered is the destruction of their habitat, however, so today we also strongly advocate protecting the rainforest, educating about the environment and introducing alternative sources of income.
With our partner foundations YEL, YLHS and YLHP we run three environmental education centres on Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. Bohorok, Seloliman and Puntondo have different areas of focus – but one thing all three environmental education centres have in common is that they educate the local population and also foreign visitors and raise awareness of the importance of the unique tropical ecosystems.
As well as being an inexpensive place to stay at night for associations, schools and companies, all of the environmental education centres also provide an EcoLodge for tourists which, as actual profit centres, cross-finance the environmental education activities with their income. The EcoLodges also promote the development of socially and environmentally acceptable tourism and create jobs for the local population.