AT 98 years of age, Mbah Djojo Suwarno could only watch the ruins of his joglo house in despair. The quake has destroyed the old building. Im still afraid the quake will return, he said.

The house was built by his great grandfather Mertodirdjo in 1836. For 170 years, the joglo was bequeathed from one generation to another. Suwarno is a sixth-generation descendant. In his time, Mertodirdjo was a wealthy man, a gold trader who built several joglo i