Even though tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide and its consumption has received considerable scholarly attention, little is known about the social conditions of the crop’s production. This is especially the case in countries of the Global South such as Indonesia, the fourth biggest producer of tobacco globally. TOBACULT explores the lives and livelihoods of tobacco farmers in upland Central Java, Indonesia. By focusing on Javanese smallholders’ understandings and practices related to tobacco agriculture, the central aim of this project is to examine how smallholders navigate morality and economy in the context of cultivating a crop that they perceive as profitable yet morally ambiguous. This is a social anthropology project that is informed by an interdisciplinary approach connecting perspectives from colonial history, gender studies and agrarian studies. 

Principal Investigator:
Tim Burger
 

Duration:
01.12.2026-30.11.2028
 

Financing:
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships