Music Video • Fundraising Platform • Documentary

Terraform tells the true story of the hardships and sacrifices the sulphur miners of Kawah Ijen in Indonesia make in order to provide for their family.

"When we learned about the miners of Kawah Ijen, we set out to tell their story as true as possible. When we met the miners in person, we realised that their story was so interesting, we simply had to tell it."

Together with about 100 more miners, Bas (the real miner featured in the video) extracts sulphur from the highly toxic crater of mount Ijen in Indonesia. Two times a day they carry loads weighing up to 95KG each up to the rim of the volcano and down the mountain, all without the use of any modern tools or equipment. All for less than 10 dollars a day. With a reduced life expectancy and deteriorating health, Bas sacrifices himself to sustain his family and give his children a future.

To capture the video Studio Birthplace followed Bas into the active volcano and experienced what the miners go through in a day's work; when the sulfur gasses hit them the cloud was so thick and big, there was no way to escape it. Even with gas masks and goggles on it was unbearable as the smoke stung their eyes and lungs, making it almost impossible to breath at times. But the miners have no masks or goggles. They simply wear a piece of cloth in front of their mouth. 

They covered the camera to protect it from the toxic sulfur fumes so they could film right in the middle of it, getting the close ups of the miners in action. 

​To achieve the family floating in the air Studio Birthplace build an improvised rig in between trees on a school yard with the help of the local school teachers.

Studio Birthplace were so touched by the miners' story and their warmheartedness in spite of it, that they felt no other choice but to raise awareness and try to help them. Studio Birthplace founded Ijen Assistance; a platform that raises funds to help the Ijen community. The project is linked to Heinz von Holzen, who found out about the miners long before them and put incredible effort into helping them. He introduced trolleys so that the miners no longer have to carry the sulphur down the mountain, his foundation sends the miners' children to school, and provides the miners with clothes and shoes.

Through the video and website they hope to inspire others. A relatively small sum of money to us, means a lot to the miners and literally takes an incredible weight off of their shoulders.

​Please visit: www.ijenassistance.com