OVER a dozen swarthy youths wearing loincloths were squatting in the shady part of a 6,500-hectare forest in Bukit Duabelas National Park, Jambi, South Sumatra, at the end of May. Their left hands held books, with pencils in their right hands. The younger generation of the Kubu or Orang Rimba tribe was attentively following a reading lesson given by Fery Apriadi, a volunteer of an NGO, Komunitas Konservasi Warung Informasi.

It was a rare sight