Why Orou Sapulot is the Most Important Tourism Project in Sabah Right Now

Sabah has no shortage of beautiful places. Mount Kinabalu, Sipadan, Kinabatangan — the list goes on. But if you ask us which tourism project matters the most right now, the answer is not a beach resort or a five-star lodge.

It is Orou Sapulot.

And here is why.

Borneo is Losing Its Identity Fast

Let us be real. Sabah in 2026 is developing at a pace that is exciting for some and alarming for others. Forests are shrinking. Young people from indigenous communities are moving to the cities. Traditional languages, ceremonies and ways of life that took centuries to build are disappearing within a generation.

This is not unique to Sabah. It is happening across Borneo. But in the remote interior of Sabah, close to the Kalimantan border, the Murut people have been feeling it more than most.

Illegal logging devastated Kabulongou, a vast forest that the Murut community relied on for generations. Modernisation pulled young Murut away from their villages. The very culture that made this part of Borneo extraordinary was quietly slipping away.

One Man Decided to Do Something About It

Datuk Dr. Richard Sakian Gunting grew up in Sapulot. He watched what was happening to his land and his people, and instead of accepting it, he built something.

He founded Orou Sapulot, a community-based eco-tourism project that gave the forest and the culture an economic reason to survive. The idea was simple: if the rainforest and the Murut way of life had real value to the community, they would protect both.

Dr. Richard is the first person of tribal descent in all of Borneo to attain a PhD. He came home from Tennessee University in the 1990s not to leave again but to build something that would last.

Why This Model Works

Most tourism in Sabah works like this: an operator brings in tourists, takes the revenue, and the local community gets very little. The forest becomes a backdrop. The culture becomes a performance.

Orou Sapulot flips this completely. Every guide, boatman, cook and host is from the surrounding Murut villages. Revenue goes directly back into the community. A portion of every booking funds the village education fund so Murut children can access better schooling without having to leave home. Another portion funds the ongoing rehabilitation of Kabulongou forest.

When you visit, you are not consuming the culture. You are sustaining it.

The Experiences Are World Class

Do not think that "community-based" means compromise on the experience. Orou Sapulot delivers some of the most extraordinary adventures in all of Sabah.

You explore Pungiton Caves, a sacred multi-leveled cave system the Murut have known for generations. You trek through untouched primary rainforest to Batu Punggul, an 800-foot limestone outcrop you can actually climb. You shoot river rapids toward the Kalimantan border on a traditional longboat. You spend the evening at Romol Eco Village, where Murut children perform traditional dances, elders share stories, and rice wine is served from jars through bamboo straws.

It is the kind of trip that Lonely Planet puts on their list and TripAdvisor gives five stars. And yet most people in Sabah itself have never heard of it.

Why We Are Writing This

We built the website for Orou Sapulot at borneo.tours. Working on that project gave us a deeper understanding of what Dr. Richard and his team are doing in Sapulot.

As a web design company based in Sabah, we do not often get the chance to work on something that genuinely matters beyond the screen. This was one of those times.

If you are a traveller looking for something real, visit borneo.tours and plan your trip.

If you are a business in Sabah looking to tell your story online, you know where to find us.

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