I never saw hard job like this. Climb the mountain - 2 hours, going down to the crater - 1 hour, dig and cut the sulfur chunk in the thick pungent smoke, load up 85 kg (carry by one person), climb up the rim for another 2 hours and going down to the foot hill for 3 hours. A lot of stop should be made to adjust the breathing rate. The journey to deliver the chunk of sulfur is carried about on the 2000-2500 m from sea level that even though a tropical region, the temperature plunge to below zero in September.

For all of that, they get 300 rupiah per kilo, in total they may get twenty five thousand rupiah or USD 2.7 / day.

The productive age never been reached 55 years old, as in the early forty’s normally become unfit physically or got ill, considering the fumaroles smoke is lethal and degrade the healthiness that is only filtered by the sarong (a piece of local cloth).

Eventhough life is hard, smile always in their face. Once time, they lower the load just to answer the greeting in a polite manner.....



Archie