Deep in the jungle of West Papua, Tinus pulls back firmly on his bow string and with clockwork precision takes aim at a bird perched high in the canopy. As he releases the bamboo arrow takes flight guiding swiftly through the air. Diligently, Tinus wraps the bird in banana leaves, for the journey back to his village is long.
His life that of a nomadic hunter-gatherer, is all he has ever known. For thousands of years his people have remained cut off from the outside world. Their reality fixed upon an area of forest unmapped and forgotten. However, as the dark clouds loom overhead and the thunder shakes the ground, it is carrying a message. And Tinus knows all too well, as he has heard from neighboring tribes of unwanted visitors promising knives and tools and with it change.
For 37 years I have been exploring this region, trekking through the highlands and learning about a people and land that have grabbed my heart. I have built lifelong friendships with many of the indigenous people. It is these people and their determination for survival that I am so passionately focused on.