The Kawah Ijen is an active volcano set in the scenic landscape of East Java, Indonesia; hosting one of the largest highly acidic lakes in the world.
Every day hundreds of workers venture into the crater with minimal protection, like a mere scarf, to protect against the poisonous gases.
These people are putting their lives at risk to mine sulfur. The stones of the caldera are on fire, emiting toxic gases, the sulfur melting, leaking down and becoming solid again.
The miners work with bare hands, using an iron rod to remove the sulfur from the crater and over the mountains to offload the sulfur at the station, 4km away.
All this with as much as 75kg laid across thair shoulders in wicker baskets. One person can make this journey only twice a day.
Most of the miners live close-by in the villages around the mountain, some of them stay at the first base camp "Camp Sulfutara", 1km from the crater. A few people sleep within the crater right next to the lake in handmade tents: under sheets of plastic held up by wooden planks.
At the end of their hard day's work, the miners get paid approximately 10 USD
The mined sulfur is used for vulcanizing rubber, bleaching sugar and industrial processes for the beauty industry around Indonesia and world wide.