FEATURE-Little-known nut helps Indonesian farmers build sustainable forest economy

Musdi Siraju,19, rests on the way down from Mount Kie Besi on Makian island, North Maluku province, Indonesia, on June 5, 2021. - Thomson Reuters Foundation/Harry Jacques

MAKIAN ISLAND, Nov 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation): Farmer Musdi Siraju, 19, picked his way down the steep, slippery mountainside in bare feet, on his way to a grove of coconut palms, canarium and nutmeg trees where he works every day to support his family on eastern Indonesia's Makian Island.

In 1512, colonial Portuguese traders, followed later by the Dutch and the English, descended on Makian and the other Moluccas - once known as the Spice Islands for their abundance of nutmeg and cloves - to exploit their rich natural resources.