A Savior during the Drought

Rays of sunlight pierced the haze on an otherwise cloudy day earlier this month in Bisang village, Enrekang Regency, South Sulawesi Province. Mawaria, 47, seized the moment to dry out some yams in her backyard. A friend helped spread the thinly sliced yams over the blue tarp to ensure they would dry evenly.

The dry season ended last month, making it possible for Mawaria to turn her remaining yams into snacks. She and her family had been eating the tuber as their staple food. "Our paddy-field is rain-fed, so during the drought it wasn't yielding," she explained. Yam, or sikapa in the local language, had became the favored substitute, as it grows well in the dry season.