Papua Explorer

13/01/2025

Harvesting nutmeg in Maluku’s Banda Neira. You might already know that, back in the day, nutmeg was worth its weight in gold—even more than that. But here is another story: in colonial times, the Dutch traded one of their colonies, Manhattan Island, for a tiny Banda isle called “Run” with the British. After the deal was finalized in 1667, the Dutch held a (short-lived) near-monopoly on nutmeg, while the British quickly renamed their newly acquired colonial settlement from New Amsterdam to New York. True story.
The pre-last slide shows today’s little harbor of Run Island, the mentioned island that got traded for Manhattan 🤷‍♂️

25/12/2024

The most viewed photo in my stories this year, and therefore reposted here. The photo was taken in September and offers a glimpse into the traditional food gathering of the Korowai tribe, with an array of natural ingredients displayed on banana leaves. The items include:
🦎 A monitor lizard (Varanus species), hunted as a protein source.
🐟 Two snakehead fish (Channa species), a freshwater staple.
🌴 Palm hearts, harvested from the inner core of palm trees, a local delicacy.
🥚 Cassowary eggs, large and green, gathered from the nests of the native cassowary bird.
🐛 A pot filled with large edible sago grubs, prized for their high protein content.
🌿 Fresh green forest leaves.

02/11/2024

Sentani Lake

14/08/2024

11/08/2024

Impressions from this year’s Baliem Valley Culture Festival, held from 7 to 9 August.
wa wa wa

10/04/2024

Some photos of the fascinating Indonesian almond trees, often called ‘Kendari’. They have beautiful large above-ground roots that provide extra support, especially in the soft soils of tropical forests. As you can see, the Indonesian almond tree is really large, reaching considerable heights.
🌿
In Maluku’s Banda Neira, the trees are often interplanted with much smaller nutmeg trees. Although the farmers focus primarily on the nutmeg crop, the almond trees play an important role by providing shade and shelter for the nutmeg, and the almonds are harvested as a valuable by-product.

04/04/2024

The Dani huts, known as Honai, are traditional dwellings of the Dani people in the central highlands of Papua. These huts are made from natural materials like wood, straw, and grass, providing insulation and protection from the region’s cool mountain climate, and they are very cozy.

29/02/2024

🟤🌿🌿🌿⚪️

22/02/2024

Another stop by the river, on the way to somewhere you have never been, finding shelter in the house of a local villager. And I remember that hostility is what makes us animals, and hospitality is what makes us human.