TWO girls were emerging from a bend in a local forest path. They were sisters, Yui Sakening Oinan, 12, and Luyung Sakening Oinan, 10. Luyung gripped two lovely rattan baskets and books, while Yui carried Turugokgok, their younger 2-year-old sister.

Both hurriedly climbed the uma ladder to join over a dozen of classmates studying in the forest school. Their faces were sweaty after half an hour’s walk from their home to the settlement of uma San