“Covered In Ash”, a story about the people who live on the most active volcano in Indonesia, answers the question, “why do you live here?” Home to thousands of people, Mt. Merapi erupts every two years or so, with large, deadly eruptions not uncommon. These eruptions typically destroy everything in the path of the hot volcanic ash emitted. Yet, people continue to live on this volatile belly-button of earth. Appearing often in ancient Indonesian myth, Merapi’s ash, over time, has covered all of the land on the mountain. This ash is a provider of nutrients, making the mountain’s slopes some of the most fertile land in the world. Sections of the land on the slopes have been passed down through ...