In what was known as the octopus center in Mentawai, the waters off Sinakak have much less to offer today as fishers struggle to find the eight-limbed mollusc.
Category: Sumatera
Children of miners in Bangka Belitung face an uncertain future
Not only is tin mining harmful to the environment, but it also threatens children in Bangka Belitung. Their education and health hang in the balance.
Mangroves and coastal communities at risk in Jambi’s east coast
The clearing of 110 hectares of mangroves in Sungai Sayang affected fishermen’s income, worsening the impact of the climate crisis on coastal communities.
Duano fishers struggle with climate and mangrove woes
Already resource-stricken, Duano fishers bear the brunt of climate crisis and environmental degradation impacts.
A local food in Mentawai Islands’ Sipora under threat from logging
Deforestation disrupts and threatens cultivation of toek, a source of protein for natives in Mentawai Islands’ South Sipora.
Illegal gold mining threatens food resilience, health of millions
Two decades of illegal gold mining in Jambi has led to the destruction of thousands of rice fields and mercury contamination in its rivers.
‘We hide while working’: The life of children spraying poison on a pulp plantation
Living in cramped barracks with no access to education, these are the children earning $6 a day at one of Indonesia’s most profitable paper companies.
Zoonotic malaria threatens indigenous Orang Rimba in Jambi
As their habitat continues to shrink due to deforestation, the indigenous Orang Rimba group becomes more vulnerable, including to threat of the zoonotic malaria. Local authority is looking at One Health as a future solution to prevent outbreak.
Triptych from the burning land
A documentary film on artisanal coal mining in Muara Enim, South Sumatera, Indonesia.
Life and death in Muara Enim, Indonesia’s “dirty energy barn”
In Muara Enim, Indonesia, not only is coal mining not going away, it’s the only livelihood many people know. Meanwhile, a state-backed coal company hardly tolerates locals’ artisanal mines.