A land of natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, of rainforests and rivers, of peaceful rural farms where farmers gather for work and leisure. But behind these images of bucolic serenity, hardship is considerable: poverty is prevalent where state authority is largely absent, and decades of armed conflict continue to leave lasting scars. The culmination of almost twenty years spent traveling throughout and photographing the country, this book portrays a place that teeters between paradise and the abyss, a wildly colorful and chaotic backdrop to the stories of everyday people's lives.