Grinding Sugarcane with Buffaloes in West Sumatra, 1911s

Photo: Jean Demmeni/Universiteit Leiden

For decades, sugar had been one of the prima donna of Dutch East Indies export commodities. Sugarcane plantations were spread out in various areas, many sugar factories were established to process sugar cane plantations. High sugar prices in the European market made investment in the sugar sector exploded in the Dutch East Indies.

In addition to large plantations and factories, there were also smallholder plantations managed by individuals and families.

The photo above shows a group of people who appear to be a family consisting of a father, a mother and two children grinding sugarcane with the help of a buffalo.

This practice is still carried out today in the sugar cane-producing area in West Sumatra, namely Nagari Lawang. It could be that this photo was also taken in Nagari Lawang.