[ News and Events ]
4 June 07
MENTAWAI DEVELOPMENT
Upcoming article in US Surfing Magazine
General
tim
Just back from a two week whirlwind tour of the Mentawai Islands, in West Sumatra, Indonesia, to prepare an article for US Surfing magazine on the spate of new surf resorts springing up there. The Mentawais, for those who haven't been, are a remarkably wave-rich string of islands but whose people suffer from oppressive poverty and health conditions. Tourism and land development are seen by the local government as a way out of poverty, bringing investment and infrastructure, but also pose daunting environmental and social challenges to this remote region. It's a complex issue and I don't pretend to have all the answers but remain hopeful that surfing can prove to be a positive, rather than a negative force here. Story should be out in about a month. Oh yeah, the waves were incredible, biggest Indo swell in five years.