A house of cards?

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the exploitation of non-formal early childhood educators 

(A history of) containment on Galang Island

Rapid construction of a COVID-19 hospital is a rare good news story for the government but the motives behind it remain unclear

Ramadan in the time of COVID-19

Muhammadiyah’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic combines Salafi legal reasoning with medical pragmatism

Java’s waste banks

Support and integrity from government and big business could protect informal waste workers

Counterfeit fashion is hot property

Indonesian youth are buying more fake fashion despite some awareness of its harmful impacts

Buried under the weight of a recycling crisis

When paper waste imports started began 20 years ago most Bangun residents sold their farms to work as waste collectors for paper mills. Now many are dependent on waste sorting

A whistleblowing culture

The assumption of the importance of financial reward has held back work to eradicate corruption in Indonesia

Natural farming in Yogyakarta

A new movement connects with nature and tradition to foster independent, environmentally aware farmers

Small island life

Remote island communities are fighting for greater autonomy and more suitable, fair development

Lost Lasem

Photo essay

Pious bikies

Yogyakarta’s Dawn Prayer Bikers are converting an outlaw tradition into a prayer ritual

Fiction: Pasung

  His gaze is fixated on an indeterminate spot behind me, his arms hang loosely by his sides. Wearing nothing but a pair of faded black shorts, his ribs and collar bones rise above his cavernous stomach. His bulging eyes stand out. A ray of afternoon sun penetrates through a few holes on the attap roof above us, shining on some part of his left arm and shoulder. Sitting on the ground of this six-by-eight-metre hut with his back leaning against the wall, his dark brown skin blends in with the soil underneath us and the bamboo wall surrounding us.

Contraception at a crossroads

Indonesia’s 50-year-old family planning program has been a great success but is struggling to adapt with women’s needs

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