With foreign tourists gone, Balinese rediscover seaweed farming

Gede Darma Putra, a 43-years-old dive master who lost his job, prepares to plant seaweed amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Nyimas Laula

NUSA LEMBONGAN, Indonesia (Reuters) - Before the coronavirus pandemic took its grip on Indonesia, the pristine beaches of Lembongan island lapped by the Indian Ocean were dotted with sunbathing tourists from across the globe.

Now, with many visitors gone and the economy in tatters, locals are often seen carrying baskets laden with seaweed up the shore amid a shift back to former ways of making a living.