My name is Arkilaus Kladit. I’m from the Knasaimos-Tehit tribe in South Sorong Regency, West Papua Province, Indonesia. For decades my tribe has been fighting to protect our forests from…
CIBULAO, Indonesia — A light drizzle falls outside Kiryono's home as he peers at the thermostat on a coffee roaster. The 39-year-old's green robusta harvest absorbs the heat in the…
One night in June 2013, the rev of a car engine caught the ear of Markus Ilun, an indigenous leader in the remote Indonesian village of Punan Adiu. He was…
Deep in the mountains of eastern Bali sits a traditional Aga village, whose inhabtants – legendarily the island’s first – still reside and abide by ancient ways. Long before Indonesian…
On this rare occasion, the longhouse in Sungai Utik, a Dayak Iban settlement in Indonesian Borneo, was extremely busy. Every one of the 28-door dwelling’s inhabitants was home, gathered for…
On May 5th a group of indigenous people from two villages quietly gathered in their Central Kalimantan regency hoping to make history. After centuries spent fighting different ruling empires, the Dayak…
One March morning on the island of Sulawesi, not long after Yerri Otoluwa was appointed acting head of Rumbia village, two men she didn’t know arrived on her doorstep. “Can…
Jemi Delvian was astonished the first time he stood in the dipterocarp forest of Indonesia’s Pahmungan village. The lead singer of Hutan Tropis, the Sumatran punk rock band that cares…
When the children of Mendiro hamlet would hear the year 1998 in school, chances were it heralded a lesson on Indonesia’s violent lurch to democracy after the devastating financial crash…
Dingo is a busy man. As the head of Tanjung village, in the Kapuas Hulu region of West Kalimantan, he barely has time for family as he works tirelessly toward…
amboo is a plant familiar to Indonesians. The archipelago is home to 159 species of this giant woody grass known for its prodigious growth rate and durability. In the Bukit…
Traditional law runs deep in the Kayong Dayak village of Sebadak Raya, a small hill community in West Kalimantan along the provincial border with Central Kalimantan. The pride the residents…
or hundreds of years water has run down the western foothills of Indonesia’s second largest volcano over the nearby Tiu Teja falls. But here on the slopes of Mount Rinjani…
Langkah Jones Lokan and his partners have come a long way as they trudge farther into the East Kalimantan forest. Sixteen years ago the company Jones now works with showed…
Out over the corrugated roofs and laundry lines dotted about Kinangkung village, forest canopy begins to fade into the foothills of Sumatra’s most active volcano. Here around 30 kilometers west…
What bugged Marwi back in 1995 wasn’t so much that villagers were barred from harvesting forest products in Gunung Rinjani National Park, a 41,000-hectare conservation zone anchored by the soaring…
Preserving mangrove forests is instrumental to bringing down emissions rates in Indonesia, a leading carbon polluter. Residents of Deaga village in North Sulawesi province also believe it is key to safeguarding their…
he Indonesian village of Dosan sits on the edge of the Kampar Peninsula, an enormous swath of peat in Riau province on the island of Sumatra. The peninsula is one…
Acacia seedlings are grown and planted in and around communities in Lampung, Sumatra, to help relieve logging pressures on natural forest. Photo by Ridzki R. Sigit. The village of Pekandangan…
Bonoran community members sustainably harvest bamboo from the surrounding forest to build traditional houses. Photo by Eko Rusdianto. "If we don't have forests, community grounds, burial place, and rice fields...…
Tall, forested mountains surround the village of Demaisi in West Papua. Photo by Duma Tato Sanda. A half-kilometer south of the village of Demaisi, Yohan Ullo pulls weeds from his…
Forest along a stream near Setulang. Photo by Yustinus S. Hardjanto. During Indonesia’s 2014 national census, 848 people were recorded living in the village of Setulang, an hour’s drive from…
The forests of the Bukit Barisan mountains support high levels of biodiversity, prevent landslides, and protect local watersheds. Photo by Sapariah Saturi. Television inspired Syafrizal to act. As he watched…
Coffee-growing is an important part of the economy of Semende. Photo by R. Ridzki Sigit. The rolling green hills covered in rice paddies and coffee plantations give Semende in the…
A resident of Indudur at work in the fields. Photo by Diana Elviza. The forest behind Indudur village clings to the steep hillside. The topography itself is enough to protect…
A Cerekang district resident in a traditional canoe, which is a major mode of local transportation. Photo by Eko Rusdianto. Home to some 400 fishermen, Manurung village appears unremarkable at…
A farmer from the village of Pamulukkang with his cocoa tree. Photo by Revelation Chandra. Irda tends to his two-hectare timber plantation in Pamulukkang Forest at the base of Tanete…
The village of Ngata Toro abuts protected forest in Lore Lindu National Park. Photo by Chris Paino. Ngata Toro borders Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi about a three-hour…
Namu village is surrounded by forested hills between Lore Lindu National Park and a conservation forest. They recently regained access to the forest, which they depend on for their way…
Cleared forest near the village of Tumbang Bahanei in the province of Central Kalimantan. Residents are trying to stop timber companies from encroaching on their land. Photo by Indra Nugraha.…
