British students build Dusun heritage centre.

 03 November 2013| last updated at 11:59PM

PENAMPANG: Fifteen British students are building a biocultural heritage centre in Kampung Buayan here for the Dusun communities to share their lifestyle with researchers and visitors.

The 150-square-metre centre is one of the projects set up by the Global Diversity Foundation to help communities in Borneo preserve their heritage.

Team member Thomas Henderson-schwartz, 22, said most of the volunteers were architectural, fashion and engineering students from the University of Edinburgh.

"We hosted Scottish dances, an architectural quiz, a blind date, sports tournaments, as well as selling cheese toasties outside clubs late at night. However, despite raising STG6,800 (RM34,000) from those activities, it is still not enough to support the entire cost of the construction material," he told the New Straits Times.

The inaccessibility of Kampung Buayan, a village located in the heart of the Crocker Range, makes the transporting materials costs beyond their budget.

"Therefore, we had to collect timber and bamboo by hand from the river, with the help of villagers," he said, adding that the project also involved the community in terms of the designs of the centre.

They started construction in July and hope to complete the centre by the end of next month.

Thomas Henderson-schwartz (right), 22, and others celebrating the completion of the superstructure of the Bio-Cultural Heritage centre in Kampung Buayan, Penampang.