Harmony in the Highlands: How the Dayak Lundayeh and Kayan Mentarang Forest Protect Krayan’s Legendary Adan Rice

NUNUKAN, NORTH KALIMANTAN — Nestled in a verdant valley flanked by soaring mountains and dense rainforests, the remote highlands of Krayan in West Krayan Subdistrict, Nunukan Regency, feel worlds away from modern urban life. Directly bordering Malaysia, this breathtaking geographical pocket is home to the Indigenous Dayak Lundayeh community, who have quietly mastered the art of living in absolute synchronization with nature.

Here, amidst an expanse of 3,600 hectares of traditional terraced rice fields, generations of farmers have cultivated padi adan—a prestigious local rice variety renowned for its exceptional fragrance, fluffy texture, and premium quality. But the story of Krayan’s adan rice extends far beyond its culinary appeal. It is a living testament to ancestral wisdom, sustainable agriculture, cross-border commerce, and an unbreakable symbiosis between an Indigenous society and one of Southeast Asia’s most vital rainforest ecosystems.

Main Facts: The Anatomy of Krayan’s Agricultural Haven

The agricultural landscape of the Krayan Highlands is framed by staggering ecological scales. The local Indigenous Dayak Lundayeh territory spans approximately 343,000 hectares, cradled by the sprawling Kayan Mentarang National Park (TNKM), a massive 1.27-million-hectare expanse of protected rainforest.

Within this pristine environment, the Dayak Lundayeh cultivate their iconic adan rice across 3,600 hectares of valley-floor paddies. Unlike industrial agricultural zones reliant on chemical inputs, the Krayan farming model is entirely organic and regenerative by design:

• Diverse Varieties: Farmers primarily cultivate three distinct strains of adan rice: white, red, and black.
• Lucrative Cross-Border Economy: Highly sought after across the border, these premium grains find a ready and lucrative market in the neighboring Malaysian state of Sarawak.
• Organic Fertilization: Synthetic fertilizers have been completely phased out in favor of natural alternatives, chiefly buffalo dung and urine, which enrich the soil without harming the environment.
• Strict Annual Rotation: Padi adan is planted only once a year. After harvest, fields are left to rest to prevent soil exhaustion and preserve the grain’s distinct aroma and flavor profile.
• Production Growth: Supported by local forestry initiatives, the 39-member Kelompok Tani Hutan (KTH) Batu Pun Bersama in Long Pua Village yielded an impressive 51 tons of dry unhusked rice (gabah) during the 2025 harvest season, marking a sharp increase from roughly 30 tons in previous years.

Chronology: Preserving Traditions Across Generations

The resilience of Krayan’s agricultural system is rooted in a chronological continuity of Indigenous stewardship that has weathered the pressures of modern, chemical-driven farming trends.

Pre-Colonial Era to Mid-20th Century: The Foundation of Ancestral Farming

For centuries, the Dayak Lundayeh people developed a sophisticated system of wet-rice cultivation (sawah basah) adapted to the high-altitude valley of Krayan. Without modern technology, early ancestors mapped out water channels, domesticated local swamp buffaloes to trample and fertilize the muddy fields, and established strict customary laws (adat) governing land use, water distribution, and forest preservation. Padi adan emerged not just as a caloric staple, but as a medium of cultural identity and trade with neighboring tribes across the Bornean interior.

The Late 20th Century: The Brief Experiment with Chemicals

During the broader push for agricultural modernization in Indonesia, synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides briefly penetrated the remote Krayan Highlands. However, realizing the degradation it caused to the soil structure and the noticeable loss of flavor and fragrance in their prized rice, the community made a collective, conscious decision to reject modern agrochemicals. They reverted entirely to traditional, organic methods, relying on natural ecological cycles.

Recent Years (2023–2026): Institutional Partnerships and Booming Yields

In recent years, the relationship between the Indigenous farmers and the state—specifically the management of Kayan Mentarang National Park (Balai TNKM)—has shifted from potential friction to robust collaboration. Recognizing that the survival of the national park depends on local stewardship, and vice-versa, Balai TNKM initiated village development programs (Desa Binaan).

Approximately three years ago, the National Park authority provided crucial infrastructural aid to KTH Batu Pun Bersama, including a hand tractor and two modern rice milling machines. This timely intervention helped streamline post-harvest processing. Consequently, by the 2025 harvest season, local productivity surged to 51 tons of dry unhusked rice, cementing Krayan’s economic self-sufficiency right at the international border.

Supporting Data: Economic Value and Ecological Scale

The economic and ecological metrics surrounding the Krayan highlands highlight why this region is globally significant:

• Market Pricing: Premium adan rice commands a high market value, typically selling between IDR 350,000 to IDR 400,000 per 15-kilogram tin container. Under specific market conditions, prices can spike up to IDR 450,000.
• Geographical Buffer: The 1.27-million-hectare Kayan Mentarang National Park acts as an ecological shield, ensuring that industrial logging and large-scale plantations remain far from the fragile highland watersheds.
• Local Demographics and Output: KTH Batu Pun Bersama in Long Pua Village, consisting of 39 dedicated farmers, serves as a prime operational model, scaling its output from 30 tons to 51 tons of dry unhusked grain within a single production cycle.

Official Responses: Voices from the Field and Forest

Local leaders and conservation authorities emphasize that the success of Krayan is built on a foundation of mutual respect between human communities and the natural world.

Otnel Akun, Chairman of the KTH Batu Pun Bersama in Long Pua Village, West Krayan Subdistrict, highlighted the uncompromising commitment to quality and environmental harmony:

"We always send this [rice] across the border to Sarawak," Otnel told Mongabay Indonesia on Friday, August 14, 2026. Reflecting on their shift away from modern inputs, he added, "We once used chemical fertilizers, but now they have been completely abandoned. Nature provides all our needs."

Otnel also stressed the importance of the single-season harvest cycle:

"If we forced two harvests a year, we fear the fluffy texture would disappear, the fragrance would fade, and the soil would become exhausted. We must maintain the premium quality of our rice."

From the conservation perspective, Hery Gunawan, Head of the Region I Management Section at Balai TNKM, elaborated on the critical hydrological link between the high-altitude forests and the valley paddies:

"Its function is like a giant sponge. The dense canopy cover catches rain clouds, absorbs water, and then releases it slowly through a network of small rivers down to the valley floor," Hery explained.

He further emphasized, "For the Indigenous community, TNKM is the lifeline of their agriculture. All the wet rice fields in this high plateau depend heavily on natural hydrological cycles."

Detailing the collaborative efforts between the state and the community, Hery noted that institutional support goes beyond mere conservation policing:

"The form of support is manifested in one hand tractor and two rice milling machines. These tools have been utilized for about three years now… This is how the people of Krayan enliven the food economy at the border. Simple sales like this can penetrate all the way to Malaysia."

Seno Pramudito, Head of the Balai TNKM, encapsulated the holistic philosophy driving the region:

"Beras adan is the pride of Krayan, born from fertile soil and clear mountain water. Adan rice is not just an agricultural product, but also a cultural heritage and proof of the harmony of the Krayan people with nature," Seno stated on August 15, 2026.

He concluded with a forward-looking perspective on collaborative conservation: "We cannot manage the Kayan Mentarang National Park area alone. Of course, it involves many parties, and one of them is the community around the area."

Implications: A Global Blueprint for Indigenous Conservation and Food Security

The enduring success of the Dayak Lundayeh and their stewardship of padi adan offer profound implications for modern sustainable development, national food security, and global climate governance:

1. Proving that Traditional Knowledge Rivals Modern Agronomy: While modern industrial agriculture often prioritizes short-term yield maximization at the expense of long-term soil health, the Krayan model demonstrates that traditional fallow periods and organic fertilization yield superior, sustainable results. By refusing to over-farm their land, the Dayak Lundayeh ensure intergenerational food security.
2. The Interdependence of Forests and Food Systems: Hery Gunawan’s "giant sponge" analogy underscores a vital truth for environmental policymakers: protecting forests is not merely about preserving carbon sinks or endangered species; it is about safeguarding human sustenance. Deforesting the Kayan Mentarang highlands would instantly disrupt the hydrological cycle, drying out the valley paddies and destroying the local economy.
3. Cross-Border Indigenous Economies: Operating on the fringes of national borders often leaves remote communities marginalized. However, the organic trade route established between Krayan and Sarawak, Malaysia, highlights how Indigenous communities can leverage localized, cross-border cultural economies to achieve financial independence without corporate middlemen.
4. A Collaborative Conservation Paradigm: The partnership between Balai TNKM and local farming groups like KTH Batu Pun Bersama serves as a successful blueprint for protected area management in Indonesia and beyond. Rather than imposing top-down restrictions that criminalize traditional land use, integrating Indigenous communities as primary partners in conservation ensures both ecological integrity and local prosperity.

Ultimately, as the world grapples with climate change, soil degradation, and food crises, the mist-shrouded valleys of Krayan offer a timeless lesson: true agricultural sustainability is achieved not by conquering nature, but by walking hand-in-hand with it.