THE eastern shore of Wonorejo subdistrict, Surabaya, is now like a jungle. Various types of mangrove plants, such as Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Avicennia and Sonneratia, as well as other plants are crowding 2 hectares of land. “If a herd of elephants were to barge in, we would not have seen it,” said Muhammad, aka Sonny Muhson, laughing.

Sonny, 47, is the leader and initiator of a group of mangrove farmers in Wonorejo. Last month in mid-October