Batu Patong Eco Village: Preserving nature, empowering local community

01 Nov 2022 | Gamuda Berhad

Batu Patong Eco Village consists of seven eco-lodges where each of the lodges can accommodate three to six guests.

90% of the timber for the construction was sustainably harvested from the surrounding jungles.

The Gamuda team and Kelabit community conducting a site survey.

Eddie Chan pointing at Batuh Kelabet or Gibbon Stone, which is rumoured to be Kelabit ancient ceremonial ground where the Kelabit people carve stone to mark their important site for festive and as their burial ground.

As builders, we are known for our beautifully laid out and landscaped townships, well- designed homes, modern rail networks and urban highways. So, it may come as a surprise to many that we played a key role in developing the Batu Patong Eco Village – a sustainable initiative that is consistent with our value of empowering and enriching communities.

Globally, ecotourism has been on the uptrend in the past decade with growing appreciation and concern for the environment, nature and biodiversity. The local ecotourism industry is alive and especially well in East Malaysia – becoming increasingly popular among tourists from Europe, Australia and Japan.

Hence, the creation of Batu Patong Eco Village, nestled in the verdant jungle of the Kelabit Highlands, aims to leverage this phenomenon by providing an authentic experience for like-minded enthusiasts in the unspoilt hinterland of Sarawak. Find out more about the eco-resort HERE.

Batu Patong Eco Village is a notable cooperation between Gamuda and the local Kelabit community to promote a legacy, self-resilience, social empowerment and a sustainable business model for the local community to take charge of their community project in the town of Bario. It all started when several descendants of the original Batu Patong community needed assistance to re-settle into their old longhouse in the early 2017.

The project kickstarted the homecoming for many Batu Patong folks to rebuild and resettle on the land which their ancestors originally inhabited. It also helped boost the local economy and promote eco-tourism in Batu Patong and the Bario Valley, providing a significant source of supplementary income for the community.