Misool Eco Resort

andrew miners

Andrew holds a BA (1993) from Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. His very first dive was in February 1991 in a fast moving, frigid river the north of England. Through the murk, he spotted some tattered leaves, a nondescript brown fish, and lots of litter. Miners was hooked.

The following year, he became a qualified BSAC diver and fled the UK in search of balmier climes and more colourful fish. He became a PADI divemaster in Thailand in 1994 and a BSAC Dive Leader in 1995. The same year, he started work as a PADI dive instructor. Moving steadily towards the equator, Miners has worked as a dive instructor and dive shop manager in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

In 1999, Miners started his own dive liveaboard business in Indonesia on his 60 ft wooden ketch Felidae. Fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, he’s sailed and dived the across the entire 5,000 km length of Indonesia. After a decade’s worth of peregrinations from the blustery north of England to the wild hinterlands of West Papua, Miners now calls Raja Ampat home.

Miners spent three years as a manager and dive guide on the area's only year-round live-aboard, Shakti. Now that he's finally found his untouched diving paradise, his aim is to create a workable balance between the conservation of Raja Ampat and the utilisation and enjoyment of its unique resources.

You can contact Andrew at andy(at)misoolecoresort(dot)com.


Thorben grew up in a little village southwest of Hamburg, Germany. His first foray into building was a three and a half year apprenticeship as a central heating and ventilation technician. He spent a year with the German Armed Forces, and then in 1995 started his second apprenticeship as a carpenter with a company specializing in reinforced concrete works.
	In 1998 Thorben left home to join the venerated tradition of ‘Zimmerman auf Wanderschaft,’ or Journeyman Carpenter. According to the old custom, journeyman are to seek out master craftsmen, offering their labor in exchange for only hospitality and invaluable experience. The journeymen are required to wear the traditional costume of guild and vow not to venture within 50 km of their hometown, leaving all personal possessions behind. Thorben spent four years criss-crossing the globe in this fashion. His travels eventually took him to Asia, where he worked with craftsmen in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Two and a half years into his journey, Thorben arrived on Koh Tao. While he was doing some carpentry work on Big Bubble’s Dive Shop and boat, owner Micha Gorgen talked him into taking an open water course, which was followed shortly thereafter by an Advanced Course, Nitrox Course, and a few live aboard trips through the Andaman Sea. Thorben also completed his Rescue Diver and Divemaster training on Koh Tao. He had been working as a divemaster at Big Bubble when his path crossed Andrew’s. Misool Eco Resort sounded like a dream project to Thorben, combining his passion for adventure diving with his wealth of experience in carpentry. You can contact Thorben at thorben(at)misoolecresort(dot)com.

andrew miners

marit

photo by Nicole Friend

Marit was born in a little Swedish town within spitting distance of the Arctic Circle, and two years later her nomadic life began. She received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology from Columbia University in New York City. Her graduate degree in Paleaopathology was permanently derailed in July 2000 when a brief holiday in Thailand introduced her to yoga and diving. Five years later, she visited Raja Ampat on a liveaboard. Andrew brought her to a beautiful deserted island called Batbitim and declared his intention to build a resort there. Marit didn't quite believe him...

Marit's job at Misool Eco Resort is quite varied. Some days she tinkers with this website and updates the blog, takes bookings, and handles media enquiries. Other days she designs staff uniforms and merchandising. On the best days Marit goes diving, designs furniture for the resort, tends the herb garden, and collects stories and myths about Misool.

You can contact Marit at marit(at)misoolecoresort(dot)com.

mohammad loji

Mohammad Loji was born in Yellu Village, and attended primary school while the area was still under Dutch control. He is the village elder representative on our staff, and we call him simply 'Bapak,' or 'father.' He is an invaluable cultural ambassador and resource about local history and traditions. He has made the 90 nautical-mile journey to Sorong paddling a dug-out canoe. The trip took him a week, but these were the days before sugar, rice, and clothing could be had in Yellu. He says he was very impressed with the big city of Sorong, but found it too hectic to stay for long. He has also made the trip under 8 metre high sails woven from palm leaves.

Bapak was one of Misool Eco Resort's first five employees. He has been instrumental in conveying our intentions and ideas to the village of Yellu, and also in helping us understand the culture in which we're operating. He also regularly joins our Ranger Patrol.

jainudin bahale

photo by Nicole Friend

Jainudin Bahale, known as 'Pak Din,' was born in Yellu Village, and is the younger brother of the Village Chief. Before coming to Misool Eco Resort, Pak Din worked as a chainsaw operator. He's also worked as a diver in Northern Raja Ampat, collecting sea cucumbers on the sea floor with nothing more than a regulator, a very long hose, and some weights. He has recently completed a dive course with Sangut and is now a very competent diver.

Pak Din has been a key player in explaining the benefits of our No-Take Zone to the younger members of the Yellu community. The village has a tradition of opening and closing fishing seasons in order to ensure productive harvests, but this is an unfamiliar concept for the newcomers in the village, whom there are a lot of.

When he's not patiently fielding questions about Bahasa Misool, the local village language, Pak Din mans the Ranger Patrol.

abdul razak tamher

Rajak, also from Yellu village, joined us in July 2006 as one of our original five employees. Over the years, he has operated our sawmill, organised groups of concrete workers, and helped us solve any number of logistical problems.

Rajak recently returned from a two month capacity-building program with CORAL in Bali. In addition to creating some protocols for our Ranger Patrol, Razak is developing a 'Floating Library' system. Using the Patrol boat for transport, the Library will visit the local schools in a two-week schedule, providing much needed learning material for the students of Yellu, Dabatan, and Fafanlap villages. You can read more about this here.

You can reach Rajak at rajak (at) misoolecoresort (dot) com.



	Sangut was born into a farming family in small village called Klaten, located in central Java. He never thought that diving would become his way of life. Everything change when he moved to Bali to study at Udayana University. There he joined an outdoor activity club and became involved with mountaineering, rafting, caving, diving and environmental conservation. In 1999 Sangut realised that he was completely hooked on diving and left his studies. Since then, he's had the opportunity to experience the beauty of the underwater world throughout Indonesia. He was certified as a PADI Dive Instructor in 2002 and worked at land-based dive center in Bali for the next 6 years. In 2008 he started work on a Komodo-based liveaboard as cruise director and dive guide. Sangut arrived at Misool Eco Resort in 2009. He's very excited to spend his days diving in Raja Ampat and continues to be impressed by beautiful marine life, healthy corals, and many species of fishes that just don't exist anywhere else in the world. You can contact Sangut at sangut(at)misoolecoresort(dot)com.