Kri Island

The story of our time with Max Ammer at Kri Resort is one that is rooted in kindness & generosity.

We were days away from flying to Indonesia for an extended trip that combined three different projects. At the very last minute, travel plans for one part of the trip fell apart - we found ourselves flying to a remote part of Indonesia with a few days to spare, no accommodation and no transport.

We reached out to a few friends and were connected to Max via Conservation International. We wrapped our work with Misool Foundation and jumped on a boat transfer to Kri Eco Resort. The transition from the rubbish dumps of Sorong to the pristine coral reefs of Raja Ampat was a little overwhelming, so when we were met by founder of the resort and the RARCC (Raja Ampat Research & Conservation Centre) Max and guided to our accommodation we were pretty blown away.

Max offered us a place to stay in the research centre for a few days and access to one of the most biodiverse reef ecosystems on the planet. The hospitality from the Kri team was incredible - we felt like we were honorary guests at the resort.

But the real gift was getting to spend time learning about the work that Max & his team are doing. Papua Diving was first established in 1993 to introduce sustainable tourism with a mission to protect nature and empower the local people. A majority of Papua Diving’s net profit goes to the RARCC to introduce community-based initiatives, as well as facilitate students, researchers, and scientists in Raja Ampat.

Over the next few days, we got to see the team at work - building boats, running education programs for local kids, hosting eco-tours and facilitating conservation projects & research.

The highlight for us was a long conversation with Max - learning about his approach to the work, his take on eco-tourism and valuable advice for ocean activists. The interview resulted in us making a a couple of short films for RARCC as a way of showing our immense gratitude and respect for their work.