Thursday, April 19, 2007

Shrimp bank in Bako village

Kampung Bako is nothing new to tourists, locals and foreigners alike as the village is the gateway to Taman Negara Bako, South-East Asia’s smallest national park in Sarawak.

Known for its belacan (shrimp paste), not many outsiders exactly know what the Bako villagers do for their daily subsistence, apart from depending on the catch from the river and agricultural produce from their small orchards.

“What is that? Is it a remnant of a broken down bridge or a water supply pipe to Kampung Bako,” this writer posed a query while pointing towards a post located right in the middle of the river to Azizi Abu Kassim, the operator of a boat that takes tourists to Bako National Park.

The reply from the smiling 30-year-old boatman was: “That is Kampung Bako’s bank, the villager’s source of livelihood.”

Azizi’s reply drew frowns and raised eyebrows from the writer.

How the villagers earn a living from the nibong (bamboo) structure to the extent that the post is dubbed as a “bank” by the villagers.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: Shrimp bank in Bako village

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