The village of Crane is believed to have been in existence since the late 1800s or early 1900s and is home to more than 3,000 people. Crane is situated approximately a mile away from the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station, a ten-minute drive.
Crane is divided into three sections: the housing scheme, the new scheme and the squatting area.
When I arrived, the village appeared to be asleep except for the cranes, king fisher, pigeons, hawks and doves scouting the rice fields and nearby drains. But soon, the place began to stir; people looked out to see the stranger intruding their village, men cycled by with groceries, a truck driver skillfully fetched a bag of rice on his shoulder into a nearby shop and through one of the streets, men hurriedly scooped paddy that had been left to dry along the road into bags.