Pak Usman, Durian Dangkal community nursery, Harapan Rainforest, 2011Seedlings are very important at Harapan. The man for that job is Usman. He is a member of the Bathin Sembilan indigenous community. They have lived in Harapan for generations. Pak Usman manages the Durian Dangkal community nursery. It can produce over 160,000 seedlings a year. With a team of five to help, Pak Usman collects seeds and seedlings in the morning before it is too hot. They are left in a cool place such as a stream until evening. They are then brought back to the nursery and planted into polybags. The seedlings are planted back into the forest when they are around 20cm tall. Pak Usman says most wild seedlings in the forest will die. Bringing them into the nursery to grow tall gives them a better chance of survival. Let’s hope so!