As well as supporting much of Earth’s biodiversity, forest ecosystems are an important source of human livelihood. For this reason, Borneo’s tropical rainforests are regarded as a hereditary treasure by the indigenous Dayak population, many of whom still rely on the forest for food and medicines.
Bukit Sua Village in Palangka Raya City, Indonesian Borneo, is one of several villages supported by the Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF) Indonesia. Here, many wild ingredients can be found in the nearby forest and are eaten by local community members every day. The following are several kinds that have been documented by staff at BNF Indonesia, including:
See also: “Even If There Is A Food Crisis, We Can Still Eat”
1. Daun Taya (Nauclea orientalis)
Commonly called bengkal leaf (Indonesian), or dawen taya in the Dayak Ngaju language, these leaves are used as a spice in traditional Dayak dishes. The taste is quite bitter, so in processing the leaves must be mixed with fish and pork. It can also be given to women to help with postpartum recovery.
2. Gandis / asam kandis (Garcinia xanthochymus),
This fruit is in the same family as the mangosteens and its tree can grow to a height of ten meters or more. The fruit itself is bright yellow and shiny skinned, about the size of a person’s thumb when fully right. Rather than being consumed directly, the fruit is mixed with chilli sauce or fish to help temper its sour taste.
3. Umbut Puring / Rebung (Gigantchloa apus, Dendrocalamus asper)
Young bamboo shoots (rebung in Indonesian, umbut puring in Dayak Ngaju) are often added to sauce-based dishes or boiled and eaten with chilli.
4. Potok / Kecombrang / Honje (Etlingera elatior)
Among Dayak communities, this plant is eaten for both its young, reddish stem and its flowers. Young stems are used to make potok sauce/ kandas singkah potok and cooked with fish, encased in bamboo over a fire.
5. Umbut Uwei / Young rattan (Daemonorops rubra)
Rattan is a wild plant that can be found growing in forests or along riverbanks. Mature plant fibres are typically used to make handicrafts, such as mats, chairs, bags, baskets, and other household utensils. However, for the Dayak people, young rattan or umbut uwei is a local delicacy dating back many years. Like daun taya, the taste is slightly bitter, so it is mixed with a combination of vegetables and meat. In Central Borneo, the most common umbut uwei dish is known as juhu umbut pekat.
6. Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon)
The leaves, fruit, and seeds of the melinjo plant are all edible. Its leaves and fruit are usually cooked down as soups, while the seeds can be processed into chips.
7. Belimbing Wuluh (Averrhoa bilimbi)
This fruit has a high water content and is often used in soups with katuk leaves or pumpkin. Alternatively, it can be added to chilli sauce, or even taken as a medicine to lower blood pressure and control blood sugar levels.
8. Dawen Jawau / Cassava leaves (Manihot esculanta crantz)
Cassava leaves (Dawen Jawau in Dayak Ngaju) are eaten on a daily basis by many Dayak community members—usually boiled or pounded, then prepared simply with coconut milk as juhu tepen dawen jawau.
9. Asam Rimbang / Terong asam (Solanum betaceum)
Although it belongs to the eggplant family, this fruit is quite different to the green and purple eggplants typically seen in grocery stores. It is yellow and has a sour taste, so rather than eating it fresh, Dayak people normally consume it in mixed soups with vegetables and meat, or as a component of chilli sauce.
10. Talas / Keladi tubers (Colocasia esculenta)
Dayak people call it keladi. The tubers of this plant contain high levels of fibre, protein, and key elements including phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. Keladi is traditionally boiled or fried, but nowadays a variety of preparations have emerged, including in flour, cakes, noodles, and even chips.
“Come on, Sobat Natura, let’s support the preservation of local food so it doesn’t become extinct. Local food, healthy food.”
Written by: Yohanes Prahara, Content Creator and Media Liaison BNF Indonesia
Photo by: Yohanes Prahara/BNF Indonesia
