Ba'kelalan
| Ba'kelalan | |
|---|---|
 Ba'kelalan
|
|
| Coordinates: 3°59′44″N 115°37′21″E / 3.99556°N 115.62250°E | |
| Country |
 Malaysia
|
| State |
 Sarawak
|
Ba'kelalan is a group of nine villages in the Bario Highlands of Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia about 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level and 4 km from the border with Indonesian Kalimantan. The villagers belong to the Lun Bawang tribe. The villages are Buduk Nur, Long Langai, Long Lemumut, Long Ritan, Long Rusu, Pa Tawing, Buduk Bui, Buduk Aru and Long Rangat.
The name Ba’Kelalan is derived from the Kelalan River and Ba’ which means wet lands in the Lun Bawang language. Its population is about 1203 but as many as 8000 call it home. In the cool mountain climate, temperate fruits such as apples, mandarin oranges and vanilla are grown. The area also produces rice, and mountain salt is obtained from the nearby hills. The people in Ba'Kelalan are Christian, members of the Sidang Injil Borneo, and rice production has doubled since the prohibition of alcohol.
Ba'kelalan Airport has flights to Bario and to Lawas using 19-seater DHT aircraft. Road access is possible via a 125 km former logging trail from Lawas using four-wheel-drive vehicles, but the road conditions can be particularly bad in the rainy season and the journey takes at least six hours. However, in September 2009 the federal government of Malaysia approved RM50 million for the first construction phase of a road from Lawas to Ba’Kelalan to facilitate access.
Tourism has increased in recent years: Ba'kelalan now has a 9-hole natural golf course, and the settlement is also the easiest point of access for visits to Kayan Mentarang National Park in Krayan, Kalimantan.
With water supply from the Kelalan river, the community have created well-irrigated padi fields in Buduk Bui and Long Langai, and grow the prized, small-grained “Highland Adan Rice” with fine, sweet grains. This is unusual in the mountainous interior of Sarawak, where most communities can only grow upland rice known as hill padi. Planting takes place each year in August and September, and harvesting starts in January.
...
Wikipedia