Indonesian program pays villagers to photograph wildlife
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In Borneo, Indonesia, Borneo Futures began a program two years ago that pays villagers to photograph or record local animals.
The KehatiKu project compensates people in nine villages within the Kapuas Hulu district for documenting wildlife, offering payments from around 0.24 euros for common birds to 6.37 euros for endangered orangutans. Active participants can earn up to 490 euros monthly, supplementing the income of small farmers who grow crops like rice and cacao.
The program aims to transform local communities from hunters into conservationists by rewarding them for observing animals rather than capturing them. Nardiyono, director of Borneo Futures Indonesia, explains that photographing an animal earns villagers more money than selling a captured bird while also allowing the animal to live and reproduce. Borneo Futures has received approximately 260,000 euros in funding from philanthropic foundations, half of which went toward developing an app for submissions and an AI system for verifying observations.
To date, the program has processed over 350,000 observations, validating and paying for about half of them. The program is currently funded through 2028 and will expand to include two additional villages in October, supporting observation of 73 species. It has also given women like Antonia Uneng financial independence, allowing her to make her own purchases and lessen her reliance on her husband’s income.
