Background Information

This record would have been almost impossible to achieve using conventional photography in the challenging environment of a typical Javan sugar mill. Since 2002 I have been using a Canon A40 Powershot 2 megapixel digital camera which not only allows me to work in conditions that would normally require more equipment than I could carry on my relatively brief annual visits but also gives me instant feedback so I can go back and repeat failed photographs. Such a modest camera has its limitations, most noticeably when its flash is used on a larger subject and this has meant that many of the images have been recorded using very low ambient light levels. Hence some are of a less than perfect standard in terms of sharpness and resolution/noise. I believe that these limitations are more than outweighed by the need to make this material available to the widest possible audience.

P3GRI is an essential source for anyone researching the Java sugar industry. The old milling equipment is preserved outside its meeting hall.

For those like me who are new to sugar cane technology I recommend two classic text books:
Tromp - Machinery and Equipment of the Cane Sugar Factory
Baikow - Manufacture and Refining of Raw Cane Sugar
The industry's written record is surprisingly comprehensive but not always accessible. From the earliest days of the Dutch controlled sugar industry, there has been a mass of information published. The archives of the colonial industry are preserved at the Central Java Sugar Museum at Gondang Baru Sugar Mill near Klaten and also in rather more ordered conditions in the library of P2 Pabrik Gula Republik Indonesia (P3GRI) in Pasuruan. The latter body has also continued the tradition of publishing annual reports which I have drawn upon for much of the background data for this project