A WOODEN cart covered in white cloth sits parked at a field in front of a house in Lemosusu village, Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi. Drawn by a tall, dark horse, its sewn-in patch pockets are filled with more than 60 books.

People call this the Bendi Pustaka, or 'library in a cart'.

Agus, the coachman, has tied the horse to a tree. His passengers, Muhammad Rahmat Muchtar-a 42-year-old activist who runs the Bendi Pustaka-Dandi (17), and Ashari (19