To Ligaya Tumbelaka, 54, Sumatran tigers are rare species of charismatic carnivore that should be protected. So, when in 1992 she was offered the job to become the only studbook keeper of this species in Indonesia, the Tangkuney, North Sulawesi-born Ligaya did not hesitate to take it. At that time, she had just completed specializing in the subject of primates at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in the United States.

A group of women gathered in the mosque, chanting from the Holy Qur'an. Their crystal-clear voices mingled with the morning breeze blowing from Tomini Bay in Gorontalo. The combination of natural tranquility and devout prayer recitation wiped out the fatigue of the visitors who had just arrived in the tourist village of Bongo. Leafy mahogany trees lined 200 meters of road approaching the village entrance. Coconut and candlenut trees grew nearby.

Barru's 'One-Door' Express Licensing System
The Barru Regency in South Sulawesi has come up with some innovations in business licensing procedures. As a result, the value of investments in this region has increased by more than threefold.

Two women wearing neatly-wound headscarves welcomed each person who entered the Licensing and Capital Service Office (KP3M) in Barru, South Sulawesi, three weeks ago. Like bank tellers, seated at wooden desks, they waited on five customers. If a visitor was made to wait, they smiled as they asked him to wait on the row of steel benches located across from their desk.

Itinerant Psychiatrist

Magical Paddy from the Land of Lembor
A farmer in the subdistrict of Lembor in Manggarai, Flores, accidentally came across the wojalaka rice that had almost become extinct. It has now spread out to many parts of Indonesia.

Yohana Anita Tanis took a handful of purple-blackish rice and placed it in a bowl of white rice. She washed the mixture and cooked it. The result was a serving of blackish rice. "I mixed the white with the black so the texture would be soft enough for my child to eat," the 34-year-old woman told Tempo three weeks ago.

The rice is called wojalaka, a variety indigenous to West Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on the island of Flores. It has a fine and rubbery texture and tastes good, especially when mixed with white rice. It is generally too soft on its own.

Robert Eli Sipayo showed Tempo a timeworn paper which he had written some time before. The customary figure from Kalumpang-a customary region of Mamuju regency, West Sulawesi-opened the stash of folded sheets. On the unlined paper were a flurry of handwritten notes and sketches. There was a drawing of the construction of a customary house jumbled up with doodles on looms and techniques for traditional healing. "This work is still incomplete. I want to add some more material to it," said the 73-year-old in his conversation with Tempo last month.