Cadong Rice and Kitchen Privilege in Indonesian Prisons

Abstract

Prison kitchen workers occupy a distinctive position within Indonesian prisons because their labour gives them access to food distribution, institutional space, and informal authority. This study examines how kitchen inmates participate in managing cadong rice, how their role contributes to prison security and stability, and what privileges they receive from prison authorities. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the study draws on observation and in-depth interviews with inmates to analyse the everyday power relations surrounding prison food management. The findings show that the tamping’s management of cadong rice functions as an informal mechanism of social control that helps maintain institutional order and creates unequal access to resources. The study argues that kitchen work should not be understood merely as prison labour, but as a privileged institutional position that can reproduce hierarchy inside detention settings. These findings underline the need for policy reform to ensure that prison food management is consistent with equality, accountability, and human rights principles