A coffee farmer carries a bag full a freshly picked coffee cherries back to his village in Ermera. Young boys play on concrete blocks at Dili’s port, as a container ship sails in.
Soon after East Timor celebrated the tenth anniversary of its independence, UN security forces left the small South East Asian country, ushering in a new era. A year on, despite oil funds exceeding 13 billion dollars for a population of 1.1 million huge inequalities remained. With alarming rates of malnutrition, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient access to health services, poor management of crops and a huge dependence on coffee sales, East Timor’s leaders faced multiple challenges.
Soldiers from East Timor president Taur Matan Ruak’s security detail in Marobo. A motorcycle freestyle enthusiast practices at a local basketball field in Dili. Villagers in a small village close to Atsabe in the Ermera district wait for a funeral ceremony to start. Young teenagers wait for their friends at Dili’s skatepark. Villagers in a small village close to Atsabe in the Ermera district attend a funeral ceremony. A young boy cycles along a beach on the outskirts of Dili A coffee farmer from East Timor’s Emera district, prepares dried coffee parchment before it is transferred into bags for transport to Dili Market traders set up their stalls on the beach front. Villagers walk back to their village on a small mountain road in Marobo. East Timor’s President, Taur Matan Ruak takes regular trips to the most remote districts and walks from village to village to talk to villagers. Here he visits Marobo’s hot springs. Taekwondo teachers instruct their students after a class in Dili – Villagers in Marobo attend Taur Matan Ruak, East Timor’s president’s community dialogue. Timorese contestants in the Tour de Timor bicycle race. Children play on the beach in DiliVillagers wait for their transport in Bobonaro, in front of one of the country’s many memorials dedicated to those who lost their lives in the country’s fight for independence. Students from East Timor’s national university chat between classes. A beach on the outskirts of Dili Young women from a coffee farming village in Ermera district Villagers in Marobo attend Taur Matan Ruak, East Timor’s president’s community dialogue. School children during their morning prayer at a school in Dili. Villagers in Marobo attend Taur Matan Ruak, East Timor’s president’s community dialogue. Early evening in Dili, locals gather at makeshift barbecue restaurants on the seafront A coffee farmer returns from picking coffee cherries in a small village close to Atsabe in East Timor’s Emerra District. University students use their laptops at a free wifi spot on the sea front in Dili. The last process before coffee is repacked into bags ready for export, workers at Timor Corp’s facility in Tibar perform the last quality check, getting rid of damaged beans.Workers load coffee bags onto trucks at a coffee sorting plant in Dili. Young men play pool at on old house in Balibo. A mother and her three children in a small village in the remote hills 50 km from Atsabe.A beach on the outskirts of Dili
