Dermaji residents on subsistence diet

BANYUMAS, Central Java (JP): At least 300 people in Dermaji subdistrict in Banyumas regency are existing on a diet of gaber (cassava shavings) because they are no longer able to purchase rice or other staple foods.

The head of the Banyumas development planning agency, Bambang Priyono, confirmed the report and said people in the area had not been forced to live on such food since Dutch colonialism.

"It occurring again now. It shows how severe the suffering of the people is during this monetary crisis. We must do something to help them," Bambang said in a hearing with the local legislative council.

He said the government would intensify social safety net programs aimed at villagers because 90 percent of the 2,000 Dermaji inhabitants were peasants.

Their daily wages are not enough to buy a liter of rice, he said. "They only earn Rp 3,000 per day." (45)