Butet Manurung

Saur Marlina Manurung, or better known as Butet Manurung, was born in Jakarta on February 21st, 1972. She is best known for her advocacy for the education of tribal communities. Her deep commitment was demonstrated by her founding of the educational institute Sokola Rimba for the Orang Rimba indigenous tribe of Jambi in 2004.

Butet Manurung’s passion for providing education to Rimba people started with her interest in adventure movies in her childhood. Movies like Indiana Jones provided motivation for her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Indonesian Literature and Anthropology from Padjajaran University, Bandung. After earning her degree, Butet Manurung worked as a tour guide in Ujung Kulon National Park. In 1999, a job opening from the NGO Warung Informasi Konservasi (Warsi) in a Kompas newspaper piqued her interest. The opening — looking for an alternative education facilitator for the indigenous people of Orang Rimba, Jambi — resonated with her and made her realize it was the kind of job she had been looking for.

After 3 years working with Warsi, Butet Manurung and her friends co-founded an education NGO for indigenous people, starting with the Rimba tribe. Butet believed that providing education for Suku Rimba can help alleviate problems they faced when interacting with outsiders. With even basic education like literacy, the people of Suku Rimba can take a step forward and are no longer at a disadvantage.

The efforts of Butet Manurung and her have not been easy sailing. Butet Manurung is not a stranger to refusals and expulsions, due to being perceived by an outsider who can bring calamity to the local populace. But such rejections did not break Butet Manurung’s spirit. She persistently tried to gain the trust of Rimba people by learning the local culture. Until one day, three children approached her to learn about numbers and letters. From then on, Suku Rimba welcomes Butet Manurung and engages in education like Indonesian people in general. 

After the success of Sokola Rimba, Butet has opened a number of schools for other indigenous tribes in Indonesia, including on Pulau Besar, Sikka, NTT; the Asmat people in Papua; and the Kajang tribe in South Sulawesi. Butet Manurung proves that the passion of Indonesian feminist icon, Kartini, to empower other people still thrives in the people of Indonesia.