Time to enrich yourself
Howard Lake | 24 March 2009 | Blogs
A week ago I had never used the word enrichment. I now use it at least 20 times a day. Here’s why…
I arrived at Wanariset knowing that the orangutans here need help. Borneo Orangutan Survival has rescued them from often appalling situations. These are intelligent, sensitive creatures – many still traumatized by beatings and abuse so terrible I almost wish I did not know about it. I certainly wish I could erase any memory of the photos I have seen. As well as mental scars, there are physical signs. John still has a bullet lodged in his spine. We gave him hessian sacks and he made a softer place to lie down. I swear he smiled, but maybe that was just me.
Shortage of funds has left these creatures surviving but not yet truly thriving under their new-found protection. And although they are now protected, there is a terrible symbolism in the way they are finger-printed and put in cages while those who abuse them and destroy their habitat go free. Enrichment is what we do for them. This means creating more interesting and stimulating enclosures. Building hammocks and swings. More climbing ropes. Nesting materials. And whatever else we can construct from scarce materials. You would scarcely believe the excitement when we got about 30 tyres for free the other day! We can do so much with them.
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And enrichment of the enclosures is just the start. Orangutans love solving problems. So we need to vary their diet more and enrich the way they get it. Strange as it may sound we need to make it difficult for them to get their food. The longer it takes them to eat, the more they are occupied and stimulated, and then satisfied when they obtain food. And all of this uses time and energy, reducing negative or aggressive behaviour.
So we will create food puzzles – drilled out logs with fruit hidden inside, for example.
As well as enclosures and feeding, we are simply tarting the place up. A run-down baby-room has been transformed into the enrichment station, with a welding area. Another room is a new, more clinical food prep area. We are fixing up old cages so we can move the orangutans out while we put new equipment in their enclosures. A smarter look to the place, with simple things like room signs starts to give people more pride in their workplace. And the staff are fantastic. Motivated. Coming up with great ideas.
But is enrichment just for the orangutans? Of course not. The work environment and the staff are truly enriched. And my life has been enriched in the past week in ways that I never thought possible.
A few days ago we took our first simple steps. We cut down massive banana leaves, smeared them with pineapple juice, and slipped them into the enclosures. Soon I had fallen in love with Tian Tian and her baby Tari. Outside their enclosure I stood with a banana leaf over my head, showing her how to take shelter. She took the leaf from me and held it over herself and her baby. And I sobbed my eyes out.
Some days I feel we are working miracles. Some days I feel we have achieved nothing. The truth is somewhere in between.
And of course, while this is ‘a report from the field’ it is also an extended metaphor. How can you enrich your workplace for your colleagues? How can you enrich the way donors see and feel your work? How will you enrich yourself?
And one more thing: please visit www.savetheorangutan.org.uk right now, and give a gift that will make you feel enriched.
And if giving feels good, please let your friends know too.
Thank you.
PS A few people have contacted me wanting to see photos. Posting photos from here is difficult but I will be doing a photo essay when I am back in the UK in April.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.