Tweet

Insider Asia

31 Jul, 12 tweets, 6 min read

A battle is unfolding over the world's smelliest fruit.

Insider spoke to farmers in Malaysia who say their entire livelihood is being wiped out at the worst possible time.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

In Southeast Asia, the durian is the undisputed king of fruit.

The smell, though, is divisive.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

Still, durians are a special treat in Asian households, costing as much as $13 a pound.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

Tan Wai Kiat's family has been growing Musang King on a plantation in Raub, an old mining township of 100,000 people, for 20 years.

Just like with wine, durian trees that age longer produce better fruit.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

But all that's left of his farm now are logs and mud, he told Insider.

In mid July, the state forestry department finished chopping down 15,000 durian trees, including the entirety of Tan's 13-acre plantation.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

As interest in durian cultivation has grown, so has interference from Raub's state government, say Musang King farmers.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

Most of the Musang King farms are built on state-owned land and are being run without permission from authorities.

But farmers say they have been trying to legalize their farms for years.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

In June 2020, the state government awarded the Royal Pahang Durian Group (RPDG) more than 5,500 acres of Musang King soil.

The problem is that the land was already host to roughly 1,000 Musang King farmers.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

The RPDG told farmers it would lease them back the land for a one-time fee of around $1,400 an acre.

But the leased land comes with strings.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

The battle around Raub's Musang King comes as demand for the fruit has been exploding in popularity in China.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

Chiang Heng Mun, another farmer whose 20-acre plantation was cleared this month, says that without his Musang King trees, he doubts he'll make enough for his family to live off of.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

Read more about the battle over durians on Insider.

insider.com/malaysia-farme…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @InsiderAsia

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

1 Aug

The typical Chinese millennial makes $22,000 a year but has no student debt, grew up in an economic boom, and has learned how to outhustle everyone else.

Meet some of them here. 👇

insider.com/meet-the-typic…

While millennials in the US are known for enduring financial crises, those in China grew up during a period of economic reform.

China's millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — started working while the country's GDP per capita soared. 💸

insider.com/meet-the-typic…

Millennials in China are expected to own an apartment, get a high-paying job, and find a spouse by the time they hit 30.

⏰ The country's major tech companies celebrate working six days a week, 12 hours a day, as part of a "hustle culture."

insider.com/meet-the-typic…

Read 11 tweets

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

10 Jul

Using a special sustainable toilet in South Korea can get you books, fruit, and even freshly brewed coffee. 🚽

Here’s how.

insider.com/south-korean-u…

Professors at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have designed a toilet that converts methane from one's faeces into an energy source. 💩

insider.com/south-korean-u…

BeeVi uses a vacuum and a small amount of water to send poop from the toilet into an underground tank and bioreactor, prompting its creators to call it a "super water-saving vacuum toilet."

insider.com/south-korean-u…

Read 7 tweets

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

30 Jun

Xiapu County in China's Fujian province is almost a little too picture-perfect, with photos of the county’s scenic spots abound on Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter.

The catch? Most of them are manufactured. insider.com/fake-rural-chi…

Xiapu is still a largely agrarian town, but much of its picturesque landscape — and the people within it — is created by teams of photo crews masquerading as fake farmers and fishermen. insider.com/fake-rural-chi…

For the right price, Chinese and foreign visitors alike can get the perfect shot for their social media profile, complete with "special effects" courtesy of local businessmen angling to facilitate photoshoots. insider.com/fake-rural-chi…

Read 9 tweets

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

27 Jun

🏡While the US faces a shortage of homes, Japan is experiencing a different issue: There's a glut of unoccupied homes throughout the country's rural areas.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to…

These abandoned houses have created "ghost villages" in Japan's rural prefectures where homes can neither be filled nor knocked down.

In some areas, nearly one out of every five homes is empty.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to…

💸 The government is offering incentives like $500 homes and tax breaks to entice residents to move from urban centers into rural areas.

But it might not be enough.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to…

Read 10 tweets

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

15 Jun

No, this isn’t a cartoon or a futuristic movie: It’s a six-floor mansion made of bamboo in the jungle in Bali, Indonesia. Here’s how it was designed. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…

As a child, Elora Hardy drew fairy-tale castles in her coloring book.

Now, at the age of 41, she is making them for real. She grew up Ubud, Bali, where babbling rivers, jungle ravines, and artisan-filled villages surrounded her home. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…

Hardy worked as a print designer for Donna Karan in New York City, and then launched the pioneering Bali architecture firm Ibuku, which is known for creating one-of-a-kind buildings from bamboo. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…

Read 10 tweets

Insider Asia

@InsiderAsia

8 Jun

Young people – what goal are you currently striving to achieve? insider.com/disenchanted-c…

The movement of the moment in China is "lying flat," which advocates for lying down instead of working hard.

Here’s more on why Chinese youth appear to be rejecting a life and work culture of constant competition. 👇insider.com/disenchanted-c…

The idea of "lying flat" is widely acknowledged as a mass societal response to "neijuan" (or involution). "Neijuan" became a term commonly used to describe the hyper-competitive lifestyle in China, where life is likened to a zero-sum game. insider.com/disenchanted-c…

Read 11 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!