Nov 17, 2018 Last Updated 12:17 PM, Nov 15, 2018

Inside Indonesia

Informal Sector

Roadside medicine men

Bootleg medicine sales are part of Indonesia’s healthcare infrastructure

Mining – who benefits?

Two carts rest on a mining site path. The photo is taken at an angle where the path appears to be going down from left to right.

Mining law changes in decentralising Indonesia raises new challenges and opportunities for local communities

Small-scale mining in Central Kalimantan

A car zooms by on a road in a barren landscape.

After reformasi, Kereng Pangi, Kalimantan became the site of a gold rush

Mining the land, mining people

A mining base, with a pipe running across the foreground and some wooden structures.

Irrespective of location or commodity, peasants now compete with multinational mining companies on the mineral-rich tracts of Indonesia

Multiplier effects on the Bombana goldfields

A photo of the front of a Toyota dealership.

Benefits ripple outwards but local government struggles to regulate the process

Mining mercury in an Indonesian periphery

A child worker in a squatting position, burning mercury amalgam while smoking a cigarette.

Improved market chain monitoring and recognition of sociocultural dynamics are important for central mercury control

From mother to citizen

A woman measures the height of a toddler under a tree, surrounded by other women and children. (Vita Febriany)

The New Order actively promoted citizenship of a particular kind for women

Dealing with social exclusion

Dealing with social exclusion

Illegal squatters in Jakarta struggle for recognition of their homes and livelihoods

The triumph of jamu

The triumph of jamu

European interest in Indonesian traditional healing has had its ups and downs, but in Java jamu reigns supreme, as it has for a long, long time

Religious Bandung

Religious Bandung

Bandung’s government opts for a religious program that matches the city’s character

American dreams

American dreams

Undocumented Indonesian migrant labourers - known locally as kuli dollar - work long hours in difficult conditions in search of prosperity in Philadelphia

A city without social justice

A city without social justice

Jakarta needs more green space, but not at the expense of the poor

Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression

Whether Papuans support autonomy or independence, they should be allowed to speak freely

The rise and fall of a gangster

The rise and fall of a gangster

Ethics and politics don’t mix in the world of Jakarta’s preman

Prison cum hostel?

Prison cum hostel?

A political economy of drugs thrives inside one of Indonesia’s most notorious prisons

Global fashion, remixed

Global fashion, remixed

Indie designers rework commercial iconography – and the business of clothing production

Go home, tourist!

Go home, tourist!

In Kuta, a local surfer has found that it is worthwhile to share waves with tourists.

Sand rafts - a photo essay

Sand rafts - a photo essay

Along the Opak River in Pundong, near Bantul, Yogyakarta, locals trade their sweat for a pile of sand.

Living like kings

Living like kings

Working-class Singaporeans travel to Indonesia’s Riau Islands in search of a fantasy built around sex.

Sex and tea in Semarang

Sex and tea in Semarang

The peculiar relationship between sex and jasmine tea in downtown Semarang keeps both police and prostitutes in a game of cat and mouse.

Latest Articles

Essay: Contesting urban beauty in Jakarta

Nov 15, 2018 - JORGEN DOYLE & HANNAH EKIN

Source/ Doyle & Ekin Wish images

Walking Jakarta’s northern coastline reveals communities experiencing disruptive and rapid change

A ‘powerhouse’ scholar: In memoriam Jim Schiller (1944 – 2018)

Nov 05, 2018 - Himawan Bayu Patriadi

Jim with friends and family

Photo essay: Hope in the face of disaster

Nov 02, 2018 - MELANIE FILLER & TIM BARRETTO

Source/ Melanie Filler & Tim Barretto

Palu after the tsunami

Surviving while seeking asylum

Oct 26, 2018 - GEMIMA HARVEY

Hazara asylum seeker Shiringul first fled Afghanistan to Pakistan and then when the danger spread to Pakistan, she was forced to flee again, this time to Indonesia. She said the streets outside of Kalideres immigration detention centre were her best option. Source/ Gemima Harvey

A change in Australia’s asylum policy has denied refugees in Indonesia vital support

Review: The killing season

Oct 01, 2018 - FRANK BEYER

More than 50 years on, mis-truths about the 1965-66 killings and what motivated them prevail in Indonesia. Geoffrey Robinson's and other books and films on the issue, based on archival research...

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