ijen x indonesia

ijen | east java | indonesia | the site of a labour-intensive sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. Miners carry loads ranging from 75 kilograms (165 lb) to 90 kilograms (200 lb), up 300 metres (980 ft) to the crater rim, with a gradient of 45 to 60 degrees and then 3 kilometres (1.86 miles) down the mountain for weighing. Most miners make this journey twice a day.The work is paid well considering the cost of living in the area, but is very onerous. Workers earn around Rp 50,000–75,000 ($5.50–$8.30) per day and once out of the crater, still need to carry their loads of sulfur chunks about three kilometers to the nearby Paltuding Valley to get paid. Sulfur escaping volcanic gases are channelled through a network of ceramic pipes, resulting in condensation of molten sulfur. The sulphur, which is deep red in colour when molten, pours slowly from the ends of these pipes and pools on the ground, turning bright yellow as it cools. The miners break the cooled material into large pieces and carry it away in baskets.

largest highly acidic crater lake in the world

READ THE FULL MULTIMEDIA FEATURE ON COCONUTS JAKARTA: http://jakarta.coconuts.co/2016/10/25/man-who-sleeps-volcano-coconuts-multimedia-feature Arifin is a sulfur miner who has slept and worked in the highly active volcano crater of Kawah Ijen, Indonesia for the past 26 years. He's seen many of his friends die over the years, killed by landslides, eruptions, inhaling toxic gas, being crushed by rocks, falling over cliffs or losing battles with chronic lung diseases.