It was still dark as I made my way to the house of Mulatsih, 40, and her mother, Giyem, 66, in Sukoharjo, Central Java, to photograph Mulatsih making jamu, a traditional Indonesian herbal drink made of roots and leaves.
At the back of her humble kitchen, Mulatsih starts her day as early as 4am, peeling and crushing jamu ingredients such as ginger, turmeric, temulawak (Java ginger), papaya leaves and sambiloto leaves, squeezing the juice into a big pot, its fragrance filling the room as it boils. Mulatsih pours the jamu into glass bottles. By 6am, her little cart is full of jamu and bags of snacks such as fried tempeh, corn fritters, onde onde (sweet rice dough balls filled with palm sugar), and even nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk).
