Butet Manurung was born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1972. She developed a love of the outdoors while earning her degrees in anthropology and Indonesian literature from Padjajaran Univ...view moreButet Manurung was born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1972. She developed a love of the outdoors while earning her degrees in anthropology and Indonesian literature from Padjajaran University, Bandung, Indonesia. In 1999, Butet joined the conservation NGO, WARSI, to lead their educational program for the Orang Rimba, the “people of the forest” indigenous to the rainforests of Jambi. Her work in the jungle evolved into co-founding SOKOLA, a non-profit providing educational opportunities for marginalized people in remote areas throughout Indonesia.
As an educator and activist, she has received international recognition – UNESCO’s “Man and Biosphere Award” in 2001, TIME Magazine’s “Hero of Asia” in 2004, Ashoka Fellowship in 2006, “Asia Young Leader” in 2007 and World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader” in 2009. The Jungle School is her first book, originally published in Indonesian as Sokola Rimba in 2007.view less