timor-leste (east timor)

nice change from jakarta. dili is across the bay on the left

beach just northeast of dili

"i'm on top of the world, baby!" ~matthew 28:18

along the north coast, east of dili

the surprising landscape of timor leste

randoms

along the north coast from dili going east

the surprising landscape of timor leste

east timor has been the scene of many tragedies

there are saltwater crocodiles in east timor!

the surprising landscape of timor leste

looking off the north coast

dinner on the shore in dili

no frills hotel in the mountains we stayed at "in the field." and by no frills i mean no running water or electricity

cabbage in rural ainaro district

piglets!

the south coast (straight south from dili) is remote

in case you didn't think goats were creepy enough

cemetery on the south coast in manufahi district

remote, but not totally isolated from the world

south coast in manufahi district

nularan (town) in the mountains in manufahi district

pet crocodile. notice the feathers in the water. he gets fed live chickens. crocodiles are the national symbol of timor

local pig

foodscape

unknown indigenous fruit. i plan to investigate

maize intercropped with leguminous beans at the base. legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, which acts as natural fertilizer

using "green manure" to preserve soil moisture

the traditional method of storing corn. a lot of it is lost to mold and pests

we were taking a tour of some maize fields when it started to rain really hard, and we were invited to come in by the folks who live here

while waiting for the rain to stop, they fed us this! it was good, with super spicy fresh chili. they mentioned that this is what they eat every other day. all day.

chicken nests

"grinding" coffee

sap comes out of the palm into the bamboo. when it's full, it's taken down and ferments for like a week. possibly something else happens. and then it becomes palm wine!

when i arrived for this focus group discussion with farmers (manufahi district), they gave me a traditional woven shaw (tais) and served this spread. homemade palm wine on the right. it's 11AM, and the wine is potent. at least they served it with coffee, and lots of food!

farmer focus group in rural manfahi district. the woman on the right is translating

leading a farmers' focus group discussion on food security. it went from english-to indonesian-to tetun (local language in timor), then back again

deep in discussion

focus group in manufahi district

rainy season has begun in timor and is now in full swing

planting corn in rural ainaro district

interior timor looks ao much different than the dry coast

early morning view from dili, a few blocks from my place

the ubiquitous UN SUV, the most popular car in dili

traditional roof ornament