Craig Paul Nowak is an artist and is not directly affiliated with Indonesia Culture Exploration. However, "I believe in it 100%, and I can't think of a better way to save the Indonesian land that is being destroyed by corporate greed than by arming the people that inhabit that land with the knowledge, confidence, and desire to maintain and strengthen the culture that sustained that land. The loss will be unimaginable. The land and the flora, much of which has never been discovered, will be gone. The animals -the last of their species in the wild - are being killed off.

If I had money I would donate it myself. Money is worthless without great purpose. Unfortunately, I don't have money, but I do have great purpose. I have talent. I have the ability to make art objects the likes of which wealthy individuals have proven to be valuable, and if I can take that one thing I have, that one revered ability, and use it to save the rainforest and the animals within it, then I will do everything in my power to do so.

This fundraiser is in the arts section not because I believe artists care more about animals than would animal lovers. No, it's here because I believe that art lovers care about art, and that art lovers are human, and human beings care about life and history and the planet and whatever fledgling existence of their long lost childhood is left within their contemporary bodies.

I think back to my first painting, the one that first received notable recognition; it was a dinosaur. I painted a dinosaur, a Dilophosaurus, the one with the frilled neck. I remember thinking about how incredible it might have been to see one in person; maybe not that one, but one of the larger, more gentle dinosaurs, absolutely, and not in a cage or in the form of bones in a museum, but in the wild. Well, if we don't act now and empower somebody to protect the Indonesian rainforest in Sumatra then in less than 10 years, that's right, before many of your children will be old enough to drive or go to college or fall in love for that matter, species such as Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Elephant, and the White-handed Gibbon will all be dinosaurs.

Future natural history books will know them not as living breathing creatures, but instead as mere history, and we will be remembered as the generation that valued cheap lumber and vegetable oil and alternatives to gasoline more than the existence of a beautiful species or the health and stability of a unique natural wonderland, which is what the rainforest is. Similar tropical environments only exist in maybe two other places, and they are being destroyed too...

Please understand that I can donate art and time and effort but I have no money. I need you to take interest and donate money so that we can help Indonesia Culture Exploration save the rainforest and in doing so, save the animals with it. Thank you for your time."  

-message from Craig Paul Nowak

THE ARTIST

My name is Craig Paul Nowak, and I'm just a normal guy, an 'average joe' artist based out of Detroit, Michigan. I wake up. I paint what inspires me, and I follow my instincts religiously. A few years ago while working at a gallery in Detroit, I humbly made the acquaintance of a remarkable young women. She was roughly my age at the time - less than 30 - strong , mild mannered, and noticeably shy. Deceivingly so, because beneath the surface of her reserved exterior slept an iceberg of a story.

Amity, this powerhouse young woman filled with heart warming passion and breathtaking purpose, the girl that I met in a Detroit gallery that somehow managed to inspire me for three years, and is continuing to do so now in 2014, is the founder of Indonesia Culture Exploration (I.C.E), a non-profit 501c3; "that strives to extend and protect the borders of imperiled tropical habitats within Indonesia", the very same areas that are threatened by palm oil and tropical timber companies.

THE PROBLEM

The decimation of Indonesia's rainforest by palm oil and tropical timber companies is a global threat. Not only do the actions of these companies threaten our planet, but perhaps more importantly, due to an impending threat of extinction, is the threat on the lives of endangered species within the Indonesian rainforest, all of whom depend on the rainforest for survival. And while our planet is arguably strong enough to live through this destruction, authorities have already predicted the likelihood that countless native species will become extinct (est. 1,206 threatened species in Indonesia alone) if the palm oil and tropical timber companies persist.

THE INSPIRATION

National Geographic predicts that wild orangutans may become extinct as early as 2023. That's less than 10 years from now. We have destroyed well over 80% of their natural habitat. To continue this destruction will surely change the world as we know it.

Not only do orangutan serve as the inspiration for this fundraiser via paintings, drawings, and prints as perks, they are also what spurred Amity's decision to lead a peaceful fight against ongoing rainforest commodification and subsequent destruction. It was her almost maternal, or perhaps more accurately, familial connection with Orangutan that lead her to their rescue when she founded Indonesia Culture Exploration. That's right, think less Tarzan and more Jane Goodall.

THE STORY (AMITY)

I was introduced to the world of conservation and environmentalism when I was eight years old. I was assigned a class project having to do with family history, but instead of focusing on my own family, I decided to go to the zoo. I was entranced by the orang-utan as I observed and recorded them for 60 hours total. I found them to be majestic creatures.

Upon completing my 60 hours of observation I turned to my father and declared, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!”

He sensed my excitement and asked, “A primatologist?”

To which I responded, “If that is what you call it, then yes, a primatologist.”

I stayed true to those goals throughout my life, eventually becoming a primatologist, working both in captivity and in the wild. I still remember the first time I saw a wild orang-utan; I became as entranced as I was that day at the zoo. And it was then that I vowed to never return to captivity, and to do everything in my power to help the orang-utan population that remained in the wild.

Later I learned of a missing species of fish. A fish that was once native to the Indonesian rainforest had all but vanished. The implications were obvious. The locals and I immediately sensed the negative impact this would have on the local ecosystem, for humans, orang-utan, and all animals alike.

The village elders asked me to talk to the younger generation, to convince them not to give up their cultures and traditions for foreign ways, the same ways that resulted in the missing fish (and eventually the plummeting population of orang-utan and other species). I met with four locals from various villages and pitched my vision of Indonesia Culture Exploration; a non-profit that uses local people and their culture as a platform to protect the rainforests from destruction. They unanimously supported the idea. It was then that Indonesia Culture Exploration was born, a way to protect the culture, the rainforest, and the animals.

THE ANIMALS (ENDANGERED SPECIES)

Below is a list of the North Sumatran animals in the Gunung Leuser Ecosystem that can and will be protected by your donation to this fundraiser and the efforts of Indonesia Culture Exploration:

Sumatran Tiger                  Sumatran Orangutan               Sumatran Rhinoceros

Sumatran Elephant            White-Handed Gibbon              Malay Sun Bear

Argus Pheasant                  Slow Loris Langurs                 Tomas-leaf monkey

Silver-leaf monkey              Siamang                                  Muntjack

Mouse Deer                        Monitor Lizards                        ...and more.

INDONESIA CULTURE EXPLORATION

THE MISSION

Indonesia Culture Exploration is a non-profit organization that strives to extend and protect the borders of imperiled tropical habitats within Indonesia. It is our mission to address the myriad environmental concerns throughout the islands of Indonesia by finding solutions which will alleviate environmental strains in the region.

We believe that in order to achieve this goal, we must educate the world on the diverse cultural backgrounds found throughout Indonesia. By supporting and investing in the cultures of the region, we will protect its most valuable asset-- the rainforest.

Together we can ensure there is forest tomorrow. What makes us different from other organizations? We empower people to empower themselves. We inspire them to protect the earth. Our anthropological techniques lead to building genuine relationships which lead to community support and involvement in protecting the lands surrounding their villages.

THE CAUSE (how your money will be spent)

I.C.E. is looking to acquire a minimum of 3 hectares of primary and secondary jungle that is accessible to all the above animals.

• PRIMARY GOAL: purchase of land

• labor costs for securing the purchased land from illegal deforestation and poaching

ESTIMATED COST: $15,000 usd

Additional funds earned through this campaign beyond that of the primary goal include:

• reclaiming and reforesting abandoned palm oil plantation land

• labor costs for reforestation of reclaimed land and land already owned by I.C.E.

• purchase of indigenous plants for reforestation

• educate the villages nearby about I.C.E. our mission, how the forest is important for the planet and how their community can help get involved

• setting up non-invasive natural structures for ecotourism through I.C.E. programs

• I.C.E.'s clean-up Indonesia's campaign to rid forests, waterways and villages of litter

• overhead costs and operational materials

THE ART PERKS

$30 donation: Signed and Numbered Print

• Signed and numbered 9"x12" unframed prints of an orangutan ink drawing. The face is comprised of interesting facts about orangutans. 
• 500 AVAILABLE

$60 donation: Original Drawn "Still" from Campaign Video

• One original 5"x3" drawing from the campaign film. These "stills" are  transferred onto a canvas using a gloss medium. The images vary. Note: If you donate $7,200 I will combine them all into one large painting with the images descending downward in the order they played in the video.
  
• 120 available

Campaign film in progress

$100 donation: An orangutan Portrait

• Each 8x10 Orangutan Portrait is a one-of-a-kind stencil painting on wood. They will be painted in June and delivered in August, but will be similar in appearance to these self-portraits. Note: you will receive an orangutan portrait, not one of these self-portraits.
• 100 available

$8000 donation: Orangutan Oil Painting (with Amity's words)

• One large oil painting, 48"x48". This painting was one of the first paintings done with Amity as the inspiration. It is a detailed painting of an orangutan in red with light blue words painted over the orangutan. The words come from a blog Amity was keeping when she first went to Indonesia to start I.C.E.
• 1 available
  

(detail of words)

$12,000 donation: Orangutan and Roo Painting

• This is a very large painting, 72"x48" and is an adaptation of a Winnie The Pooh image where Roo was sitting with a heffalump. In this painting the Heffalump was replaced by an orangutan with a bird on his shoulder, Roo was painted gold, and the grass was replaced with flowers. It was painted in several of Nowak's signature styles.
• 1 available
  

ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPTIONS

I.C.E. Website:

• http://www.culturexploration.org/donate.html
  

I.C.E.'s fundraiser on March 15th:

• http://battle4forests.weebly.com 
  

Protect Rapidly Vanishing Rainforests:

• https://onetoday.google.com/p/COkTojce?c=12139570
  

Let Kids Be Kids:

• https://onetoday.google.com/p/b5Dcz_HL?c=12139570

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT I.C.E.

• http://culturexploration.blogspot.com/
  
• http://www.squidoo.com/indonesia-culture-exploration

*Shipping to donors and minimal production costs of yet to be completed artwork "perks" will be deducted from funds acquired via this fundraiser.