INDONESIA | Monday, 8 July 2013 | Views [1992] | Comments [1] | View Larger Image
This woman and her husband (left) were only able to bear only one child; a girl. As is customary with the Mentawaians, their daughter lives with her husband, many hours’ walk from her family home. As the couple have grown older and having no children present to assist them with their day-to-day tasks, the temptation to resettle into a government village with fewer physical demands became difficult to resist. But in modern village people will encounter modern problems; food must be purchased using money within the village. As soon as government funding draws to a close, generating a sustainable income becomes a near-impossible task. Thus, they move back. In the jungle money is not required. There is always shelter and food is plentiful. For this couple despite having a “modern” house in a village it is their jungle home that still remains integral to their survival.
