Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia
The Mentawais are considered one of the most remote areas on planet earth and have long been removed from the rest of the Indonesian Archipelago. The Mentawai Islands have been on the edge of the earth since the beginning of time, largely ignored by civilization, but this all changed with the discovery of world class surf sometime early in the 1990's. Like discovering gold, the stories of perfect waves breaking along pristine, idilic, tropical islands sent surfers buying plane tickets and piling onto charter boats by the thousands to experience the Mentawais. But it wasn't until the mid 2000's, with the building of resorts on land, did Mentawaiians have much contact with Western Civilization. Kandui Resort was one of the first to build a resort, starting the building in 2004 and opening our doors in 2006. We've struggled on many levels, to survive as a business, to survive as a partnership, to cultivate understanding between Western and Mentawaiian cultures... And during those years we've seen many things here, many unnecessary deaths and unnecessary hardships, and throughout our own hardships it's always been our goal that we would one day form a foundation to help the Mentawaiian community here that we have so fallen in love with. Finally, in late 2023, with Covid finally behind us, we did just that. Our partner and the director of Kandui Resort, local Mentawaiian Anom Surheri, got the ball rolling and the Kandui Cares Foundation is now up and running. It's been a learning experience for all of us to run a foundation and things are far from perfect, but we are helping people and that is what it's all about.
The Best Surfing Location on Earth
The Mentawais are widely considered the "Best Surfing Location on Earth" with the first surfers arriving in the early 1990s. With a chain of countless islands, perfect reef passes, light winds, remote location and a conveyor belt of relentless swell from 6,000 miles away, there's literally no surf location that compares to the Mentawais. Over the last 30 plus years, the Mentawais have become the destination every surfer dreams about visiting at least once in their lives. With the arrival of surfing, the Mentawais shortly became a meeting point between the Western World and Mentawai World.
While most surfers know the perfect waves, few know what goes on behind the waves. The Mentawai Islands are widely considered one of the most remote areas within a third world Indonesia and the basic amenities the first world takes for granted are very tough to come by. The Kandui Foundation was created by a local Mentawaiian, Un Suheri to address what is at most need within the Mentawaiian Community. The Kandui Foundation currently places its efforts within 3 Programs: Medical Financial Assistance, Educational Scholarships and Food Sustainability Programs.
