In miniera: trasformazioni dell’ambiente e del lavoro nell’estrazione di oro e pietre semi-preziose in Aceh

In Aceh province, in Indonesia, the possibility of exploiting natural riches – namely, wood, gold, semi-precious gemstones and palm oil – on an informal and artisanal scale greatly influences the worldview and imagined futures of people. Villagers – who are confronted with the scarcity of jobs in the industry and public sector but benefit from the abundance of forests and land – prioritize agriculture, logging and non-timber resources as means to secure the necessities of life. Specifically, rural young men – whose precarious life trajectories arise out of the post-tsunami era and contemporary hyper-developmentalism – emphasize the financial security that the extraction of wealth in the forests might bring. This material motivation sits alongside a number of additional attractions associated with the erratic work patterns towards the deposits of natural resources. These include: perceptions of social mobility, the thrill of adventure and of winning precious assets, and comprehensions of adulthood and progression through the life course. Based on a 14-month fieldwork with expeditions’ financiers, goldminers, semi-precious gemstone seekers and their families, I argue that the current extractive scheme is rapidly transforming the traditional practices and concepts of work, as well as the interconnections within and beyond the Acehnese anthropocene. This scheme first gives rise to asymmetries between men and women, youths and adults, people who are in political control and those who are socially invisible, migrant workers and autochthonous ones. Then, it leads to serious perils for individuals – i.e. bodies fatigue, malaria infections and major injuries. Finally, it exposes the environment to processes of unscrupulous engineering, overexploitation and pollution.