Sharing with the Devil
Theft and Corruption in an Indonesian Coffee Plantation

Project by

Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono
Senior Fellow 2024–2025

This project aims to produce a monograph exploring a paradox within the 125-year history of the Indonesian plantation industry. Despite appearing highly productive, these plantations rarely turn a profit and are often plagued by significant internal theft. The plantation system, a colonial construct, has outlasted its creators. Although colonialism officially ended long ago, plantations have expanded from two million hectares in 1900 to twenty million hectares in 2010. How can a colonial institution continue to thrive in a post-colonial context? Have colonial relationships been dismantled or simply transformed into new political-economic arrangements? What role does internal theft play in this scenario? How can a business riddled with theft not only survive but also prosper instead of going bankrupt? This project investigates the internal dynamics of plantation structures, focusing on the interaction between capital and labor. The plantation is not just a site of production, it is also a battleground for the concentration and distribution of wealth. Could it be that internal theft, rather than hindering the development of plantations, actually serves as a mechanism that keeps them alive?