- Guirassy and Anton to return to Stuttgart with new side Dortmund
- Marseille bidding to continue 'almost perfect' Ligue 1 start
- Arnold quits as coach of Australia men's football team
- Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally
- Allies to remember failed WWII parachute operation
- Perez leading new-look Villarreal charge against leaders Barca
- Man City face Arsenal in Premier League title showdown, Postecoglou under pressure
- Fake celebrity endorsements, snubs plague US presidential race
- Documentary brings Argentine 'death flights' to the big screen
- Strike shows challenge to Boeing 'reset' of labor relations
- World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage
- How plastic pollution poses challenge for Canada marine conservation
- Scientists track plastic waste in pristine Canada marine park
- South Africa's Buhai grabs LPGA Queen City lead
- Japan inflation firms to 2.8% ahead of BoJ rate decision
- Russia's Kadyrov accuses Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck
- Titan sub had to abort a dive days before fatal implosion: testimony
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
- Head's 'good night at office' after century seals win over England
- Dubois seeks legitimacy with Joshua scalp
- Rate cut could lift consumer spirits before US elections
- Last-gasp Gimenez strike sends Atletico past Leipzig
- Barca stumble at Monaco after early red card
- Raya heroics save Arsenal in Champions League opener at Atalanta
- Guardians beat Twins to secure MLB playoff berth
- Jihadist attack in Mali capital killed more than 70: security sources
- Alonso hails 'efficient' Leverkusen after Feyenoord rout
- Ex-Man United striker Anthony Martial joins AEK Athens
- NFL unbeatens meet as Texans visit Vikings, Steelers host Chargers
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI after Labuschagne strikes
- Dream debut for Wirtz as Leverkusen thump dire Feyenoord
- Myanmar flood death toll climbs to 293: state media
- Israel army says West Bank air strike kills 4 militants
- LIV golfers get green light for US Ryder Cup team, PGA Championship
- US accuses social media giants of 'vast surveillance'
- Ten Hag to bed Hojlund, Mount in carefully when they return for Man Utd
- Breaking bad as McIlroy endures 'weird' day
- EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods
- Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
- New study reinforces theory Covid emerged at Chinese market
- World Bank boosts climate financing by 10 percent
- Bagnaia eyeing summit on home ground in 100th MotoGP
- 'Something was wrong', defendant in French mass rape tells court
- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
- Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
- Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
- Labuschagne sparks Australia fightback in England ODI opener
- S.Africa's HIV research power couple says fight goes on
- Why is Israel focusing on border with Lebanon?
'Crowns of the forest': Indonesian helps orchids bloom again
Orchids in hand and a bamboo ladder on his shoulder, farmer Musimin scans the forest at the foot of Indonesia's most active volcano to point out clusters of the indigenous flowers he has been salvaging for years.
The 56-year-old, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, is a self-taught conservationist with no formal background in botanics.
He has dedicated his career to cultivating plants he compares to gemstones, and has been on a one-man mission to save the exotic blooms unique to the land on the outskirts of Yogyakarta on Java island.
His work began after lava and ash ripped through the area from the powerful eruptions of Mount Merapi, the last major one in 2010.
"I remember orchids used to be abundant in the forest," he said.
"Locals from surrounding villages could take any orchids they wanted, and they sold the flowers at nearby tourist destinations."
But many were destroyed by the ash clouds that fell on the land below the volcano.
So he set about saving their wilting fortunes, over the years building two bamboo greenhouses where he could preserve the most special kinds of orchids.
The volcano killed about 60 people when it erupted in 1994, destroying thousands of hectares of forest.
Another eruption in 2010 left more than 300 dead, while also wreaking havoc on the land.
"The forest near my house was burnt dry and the orchids I used to easily find were gone. I regretted not keeping one or two of them," said Musimin of the 1994 tragedy.
That encouraged him to join the local government's effort to find the surviving orchids as he and his neighbours explored what remained.
They managed to revive at least 90 varieties of orchids that would also end up surviving the 2010 eruption, he said.
- 'Pioneer of orchid conservation' -
Now Musimin mostly works alone and wants those who enter the forest to leave the orchids to blossom instead of trying to profit from them.
"A lot of people now choose to pick and sell orchids from the forest. I personally think the orchids are better off in their habitat, where they can live as the crowns of the forest," he said.
Other orchid centres run by locals who learned about conservation from Musimin have sprung up in the forest around the volcano, said Mount Merapi National Park spokesperson Akhmadi.
"He is, indeed, the pioneer of orchid conservation in Mount Merapi. His work has become an example for other groups we are working with, that have emulated and further developed his programmes," he said.
With others now taking Musimin's lead, the father of two wants to continue his orchid-saving legacy by passing down his self-taught botanical knowledge to his grandchild, whom he often takes into the forest.
"I am showing him orchids as early as possible," he said.
"Who knows, he could be my successor."
H.Silva--PC