Most foreigners who visit Indonesia end up at the beaches of Bali. But not Adam Miller, a young conservationist from St. Louis. While volunteering at a pet shop at age 10, he came up with the vision of one day working in Indonesia to help the animals there. His vision quickly became an obsession. Many years later, Adam found himself in a remote village in Borneo, Indonesia. It’s a part of southeast Asia facing the fastest rate of deforestation in the world and the second highest number of endangered species in the world. He lived there for six months on a total budget of $1,000 and built up a nonprofit organization called Planet Indonesia. In this podcast episode, Adam discusses the challenges of working in a country with a culture that is vastly different. When he goes running, random fathers in the community might stop to offer their daughters as wives. And you will find out what Adam means when he says that in Indonesia, "host families will love you so much they might kill you in the process." Adam also talks about grant writing, donor relations, using behavioral economics and incentives to promote conversation, and overcoming serious differences in the way people communicate in Indonesia. This episode is sponsored by the Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and tells the time). Use the promo code SHIN at the checkout to get a 10% discount on your purchase. Show Links for Adam Miller The Franciscan Sisters of Mary Mulago Foundation Dan Pallotta’s TED talk: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong Poverty Inc. Documentary Show Summary for Adam Miller Adam was volunteering at a pet shop at age 10 in St. Louis, Missouri He saw a bird from Indonesia that sparked his interest Adam Miller was known as a “bird nerd” growing up Adam Miller’s dream was to become a conservationist researcher He began to feel inadequate just doing research, as just publishing articles didn’t feel like it was making enough of an impact Adam Miller had an early life crisis and so jumped on a plane  to Indonesia He ended up in Indonesia teaching English as a Fulbright Scholar Learning about the culture, language, and the people led to him starting Planet Indonesia Indonesian culture is very difficult to adapt to for a westerner Conversations are much more indirect, longer-winded, and unclear in Indonesia A donor foundation had a very strict reporting requirement and the finance team for Planet Indonesia kept assuring Adam that things were being done properly. Adam later found out that the team wasn’t doing the job as required by the foundation. They were not being honest and direct about their inadequacy The Indonesian government is very unclear about requirements and permits for NGOs When Adam first moved to Indonesia, there were very few foreign NGOs present The Indonesians watch western TV and movies and romanticize the culture The local Indonesians love to follow and take photos of foreigners When Adam goes for jogs, fathers in the area ask him to marry their daughters Indonesian cuisine is one of the best in the world. Especially lactose intolerant people like Adam and me! Host families in Indonesia won’t let their guests do anything or go anywhere alone, especially for female guests “Indonesians will love you so much that they’ll kill you in the process.” - Adam Miller People live with their families and don’t go off to live independently as much as in the western culture Now there are more nonprofit organizations in Indonesia There are more than 85 nonprofit organizations in the area in Borneo where Adam Miller works Indonesia food is usually rice, tempeh, chicken, vegetables, curries Sambal is Indonesia’s popular hot chili sauce Adam had dinner with a good expat friend in Borneo and in the conversation realized that it has been so hard for him to have long-te