The people of Indonesia & their culture, politics, economy and environment - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia

Informal Sector

Struggling for a job

Misinformation and lack of opportunity form disproportionate barriers for rural youth looking for work

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

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

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

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

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

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

Freedom of expression

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

Prison cum hostel?

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

The rise and fall of a gangster

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

Global fashion, remixed

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

Go home, tourist!

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

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

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

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Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.