DOZENS of huts have transformed into a small settlement. Each house consists of two floors, almost entirely constructed using wooden boards. On the ground floor, a trommel machine roars, performing amalgamation, a method used to break, wash, and filter gold materials with mercury. Locals have been mining gold for hundreds of years on Mount Pani, in Pohuwato Regency, Gorontalo.

Each mine owner typically employs kabilasa, a term for mine work