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We're also farmers who care about the land producing goods that people need it's important even the soap we use be made from the products that come from our farms not tropical rainforests.

Meet Kesi, We adopted Kesi from Orangutan Outreach. Here's her story. We're proud parents.

Kesi is a Swahili name which means ‘child born in difficult times.’ You’re probably wondering why she was given an African name. After all, orangutans don’t live in Africa. They live in Southeast Asia. Times are extremely difficult for wild orangutans. They are being pushed to the brink of extinction due to the rush to convert rainforest into palm oil plantations. Their habitat is being destroyed while they’re still living in it—and with nowhere to go, orangutans will not be able to survive in the wild. So that is why this precious little girl was given the name Kesi.

Kesi’s story is particularly brutal. She was brought to Nyaru Menteng back in September of 2004 when one of the paramedics found her during a rescue at a palm oil plantation in central Kalimantan. She was barely three months old, with her first teeth just barely coming through. When the paramedic took a closer look, he was shocked by what he saw: Her left hand was missing. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what had happened. Starving and desperate to take care of her infant, Kesi’s mother had wandered onto the plantation in search of something to eat. In her weakened state, she was an easy target for poachers or plantation workers, and because she had a baby that could easily be sold for a few extra dollars on the black market, there was no hesitation. She was quickly brought down— and then they went in for the kill, finishing the job with a machete or knife. In the mad rush to kill the mother and capture the baby, one thing got in the way: Kesi’s little hand. An infant orangutan never lets go of his or her mother. Ever. Nor will a mother ever let her infant out of her immediate reach. With a vise-like grip, the only way to pry her loose might have been to cut her off. This, more or less, is the tragically brutal fate of many orangutans caught on palm oil plantations.

After Kesi wasbrought to the center, the medics discovered that her foot was also wounded— obviously cut by a knife or machete. What was truly incredible, though, was that despite all the pain she had clearly suffered, this little angel still smiled peacefully as she lay in her basket in the nursery. She was one of the tiniest and most delicate babies the staff had ever seen, and she quickly became a favorite. With time, Kesi began to grow and gain weight. The wound in her left foot eventually healed and so did her spirit. She grew eager for adventure and started using two of the toes on her injured foot to hold onto smaller branches– even though she sometimes didn’t know how to get back down again. Whenever this happened she would cry out loudly for her caretakers to come and help her. Through everything, she perseveres. She is always trying to reach higher branches, and while she is emotionally sensitive about her stump (not liking people to touch it) she uses it more and more— especially to feed. She’s especially fond of rambutans, and she’s reluctant to share, quickly scampering away if anybody tries to take some!

Staff members at Nyaru Menteng still can’t believe how much progress Kesi has made in her life. She no longer wants to be carried by caretakers to the forest. She successfully graduated from Infant to Baby School, and with so many new friends around her— who are a bit more experienced than her—she learns quickly. She now construcs her own nests and has started to climb trees more and more. So even though Kesi was ‘born in difficult times,’ she’s a real fighter, and everyone believes that she’ll develop into a perfect wild orangutan.