'Prosperity beyond belief': The interaction between a potato crop boom, vulnerability and volcanic hazard in Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines the interaction between conditions of vulnerability and a potato crop boomin Central Java’s highlands. While partaking in agricultural endeavours on volcanic slopes canbring substantial economic rewards, the local benefits associated with these livelihood activitiesare often overlooked by disaster scholarship. Drawing on a period offieldwork conducted in theDieng Plateau, a region characterized by a series of craters that periodically erupt mud and poison-ous gas, this article demonstrates how a potato crop boom has evolved despite, and in part becauseof, the underlying volcanic hazard. By integrating the sustainable livelihood and agrarian changeliteratures, the article concludes that the potato boom has provided significant economic opportu-nity, and through this, a means to reduce vulnerability. Yet, despite these economic gains, theagrarian shift described herein has also introduced new vulnerabilities as farmers have becomedependent on a resource intensive crop. Thesefindings demonstrate how theories of agrariantransformation can complement livelihood perspectives in disaster research, and provide greaterdetail into the local and regional processes that encourage people to often-profitably farmhazardous land.