Founded in October 2004 as the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative (OUREI), the mission of the Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) has remained true to its founding principles - to save the orangutans of Indonesia through conservation education, outreach initiatives, and innovative collaborative programs that inspire and call people to action. We expanded our mission in 2016 as OURF became the US chapter of The Orangutan Project, enabling us to embrace a much larger portfolio of projects that aim to save orangutans and their habitat.

OUR Vision

The founders of OUREI and OURF have always believed that saving orangutans means saving their forest home, the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, and that only the people of Indonesia and Malaysia can ensure their protection.

Working under the ethos "Free to be Wild," OURF envisions a time when the people of Indonesia accept that orangutans and all other species that inhabit their rainforests have a right to live, and that their forests can be shared and utilized sustainably for the benefit of both animals and people.

The problems facing orangutans are immense. However, OURF and its partners believe that educating local people about their plight, teaching them about the importance of their tropical rainforests, and supporting sustainable development initiatives can enable the orangutan and the great forests of Indonesia and Malaysia to survive.