North Lombok was hit particularly hard by the earthquakes that rocked the island in 2018. Senaru, a small village that serves as an entranceway to Mount Rinjani was no exception- roughly 80% of buildings were irreparably damaged or destroyed, including houses, schools and Mosques. As well as losing their homes many local people lost their incomes, the local economy being heavily dependent on tourism and Mount Rinjani trekking.

In the wake of the earthquakes Rinjani Dawn Adventures re-deployed its modest resources to earthquake relief. Using mountain guides and volunteers, they worked with the Kudus  (village chief) to assist with the distribution of aid. “Many of the water pipes that run-down the mountain to Senaru were broken” tells Saefudin Zohri, RDA manager and leader of the Sasak Warriors team. “One of the first things we did was convert our vehicle into a water truck”. Lashing water tanks to the back of the Grand Max, Saefudin (or “Aef as he’s affectionately known) drove 10km down the hill to get much-needed water from an irrigation channel. “Many people in the village were lacking water, so we had to make this trip 10-12 times a day”. The truck also frequently served as a community ambulance, taking sick villagers to the closest hospital in Tanjung (50km’s away).

Angus, an ex-army officer and the owner of Rinjani Dawn Adventures explains how things evolved from there. The first major project we did was building a logistics and aid post that could be used by the village for the safe storage and distribution of aid. This involved pulling down the walls of a damaged shop, and rebuilding using wood and lightweight materials. We raised money by reaching-out to past customers, family and friends, and were blown away by the generosity of people from around the world. After we completed the aid post we focused on providing food, water filters, and building materials. By this time Aef had managed to recruit 26 volunteers, so we thought we’d give the group a name, “Sasak Warriors”. Many people from Senaru and Bayan still follow the Sasak traditions of old. They are proud of their ancestral heritage and the community they hold dear. This is one of the reasons we named our initiative “Sasak Warriors” – to ensure it was community lead from the roots up.

The summit of Mount Rinjani has been closed in 2019, but Rinjani Dawn have been running treks to Senaru Crater Rim and other locations. We were proud to sponsor “Project Lombok”, an influencer lead adventure that raised money for the Pelita Foundation’s amazing “Pop-Up schools” program. Working with travel blogger Jackson Groves opened us up to the power of influencer collaboration, something we hope to utilise for future Sasak Warriors projects.

Post script:

Rinjani Dawn Adventures are currently using trekking profit to fund a Sasak Warriors house build in Senaru. If you’d like to track project efforts, or plan an incredible adventure with Lombok’s leading trekking provider, more information can be found on their website and social media channels.

www.rinjanidawnadventures.com @rinjanidawnadventures

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