Master's Thesis from the year 2006 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, grade: 2,0, Leiden University (Faculty of Social Science), language: English, abstract: With this thesis I will end my six years of study on the field of Cultural Anthropology. I started off at the University of Cologne, taking classes in Anthropology, Political Science and Indonesian Philology. I met a lot of inspiring and motivated people there and some have become my closest friends, who never grow tired of comforting me when times are rough. The Master program in Leiden gave me the opportunity to work with teaching staff, which is very enthusiastic about Indonesia, which fuelled my interest and created a work atmosphere that was very fruitful. The fieldwork trip to Indonesia was the "e;rite de passage"e; for me in becoming a real anthropologist, going through hard and exhausting times while writing the proposal as well as in the field, but meeting some of the greatest people who cared for me and welcomed me in their homes after knowing me just for a very short time. My thank goes to the staff of some local NGOs, who provided me with information and did not grow tired of my questions: Yayasan Griya Mandiri, WalHi Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Media Alamku, Pondok Rakyat, Dian Desa, and Lestari. I want to thank my supervisors, Gerard Persoon and Bart Barendrecht for their critique and fruitful input on my thesis and their patience with me. I also want to thank Sylvia Tidey, Sanne Simmers, Ali Al Hadaui, Annemarie Samuels, Esther van Stam, Yanti de Boeren and Anita Kuscerova, who were my companions on the fieldwork trip and I could not have wished for better company during the preparation period and the three month in Yogyakarta. The topic of my research has become a heart topic, because I am utterly convinced that this world can be an even better place if we manage to care more for each other, do not waste our resources and create an atmosphere of more equality so that every human being has everything one needs to be healthy, nourished, comfortable and safe. Now and in the future. [...]
