Backward step for mankind: man walks 800km in reverse to save Indonesia’s forests

Medi Bastoni hopes to get to meet the president when he arrives in Jakarta, in several weeks

A man from a village in East Java has embarked on an unconventional mission to raise awareness about preserving forests: he is walking 800km to Indonesia's capital, backwards.

Medi Bastoni hopes that, after taking thousands of steps backwards - and hopefully forwards for mankind - he will have the opportunity to meet President Joko Widodo so he can ask him for a symbolic tree seed, which he intends to plant on the slopes of Mount Wilis.