Our Story

The concept of Rainforest Pavilion came from the founder Alexander Arbess. His life as an environmentalist and DJ/Artist converged into what the Rainforest Pavilion is today. It was his dream to bring the two paths together.

Love for the rainforest is in his blood, growing up Alex spent much time in the temperate rainforests of Canada but also spent time living in the Bornean rainforest with the Dayak peoples who reside there. Later in life, he found himself leading trips in the Sumatran rainforests, educating international school students about the wonders of the rainforest. “ I feel when I am in the Rainforest that I am near the heart of the planet, it’s a giant cyclical perfect system, understanding the diversity of life and symbiotic relationships in this ecosystem holds the answers to many of humanities problems. Science should focus more on understanding the planet then predicting the future”.

In a different much more urban pursuit, Alexander started DJ’ing and was involved in the rave scene in starting in the late 90’s. He always felt like there was so much energy in the music and in the community surrounding it , music was the ultimate language that could cross all borders and unite many people from different walks of life in celebration.

His DJ career got a kick start in 2000 being one of the youngest DJ’s to ever play on the bill with the legendary dj duo of the era Sasha and Digweed. His career as a DJ continued evolving over the last 20 years, never attaining super stardom but getting solid bookings and playing prestigious stages around the world including the now famed Robot Heart at Burning Man.

Alexander’s two paths crossed with the advent of Wonderfruit festival. A music festival with the ethos of catalyzing ideas for positive impact. Through a serendipitous series of events and encounters from Bali to Burning Man Alexander was friends with te the festivals curator, and proposed the pavilion as an interactive experiment; a venue which imitates a rainforest and invites leaders across many sectors to share how we can create an abundant future for planet earth. The Rainforest Pavilion was born!