THE man lied to his boss at the Kendari Municipal Government office in Southeast Sulawesi. He did not come to the office because a family member was sick. Sudirman’s and his wife’s goal was actually the village of Tembe, North Rarowatu subdistrict, Bombana regency. The provisions they brought were not gifts, but rather a spade, a pan and sieve.

There at the village, some 230 kilometers southwest of Kendari, Sudirman was not alone. Hundreds o