Indonesia Nickel Boom (ongoing progress)
The deafening roar of bulldozers ripped through the tranquil forest, scattering birds and shattering the harmony that had defined the O Hongana Manyawa’s home for generations. In November 2023, a viral video captured two men from this nomadic tribe standing defiantly in front of the machines tearing through their land, armed only with wooden sticks. Their gestures to halt the destruction were ignored, and the roaring engines forced them to retreat.
“The mine is getting closer to our village every day, so naturally, the areas for hunting are becoming further and further away,” laments Mardon ‘Don’ Saolat, his voice tinged with frustration and sorrow.
This act of resistance is emblematic of a much larger struggle. The O Hongana Manyawa, a resilient hunter-gatherer community on Halmahera Island in North Maluku, is fighting not just to protect their ancestral land but to preserve their very way of life.
Their story highlights a larger global tension between progress and preservation, challenging the ethics of so-called “sustainable” technology.
