The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

The villagers go to the forest for several days at a time during the harvesting
season from January through March. This is the dry season when work in the forest
is easier, and it is the lean period in the agricultural calendar. The cutters go in
family groups and camp in the forest. The camp is set up in a central area, with
shelters constructed of bamboo found at the site. While men go in search of rattan,
women (and small children) remain at the camp to prepare food. The cutters haul the
rattan to a 'stockyard' at the road head, the furthest point accessible to the truck that
picks up the rattan. Although theoretically a person can cut up to 100 rattan pieces
of 4.6-5.2 m in a day, the subsequent hauling and associated jobs involved limit it to
an average of about 10 pieces per person per day delivered to the stockyard. The
average family group collects about 500 to 1 200 pieces per year, though they would
harvest more if there was a demand for it. The people are a bit wary of the labor
involved in rattan gathering. One village headman reported that people from his
village had collected rattan last year, but would not do so this year because it was
too far away from the road.
The 'traders' in the rattan sector are in fact 'agents'. They are authorized by the
rattan factories, which hold the legal right to the rattan, to deal with the cutters to
arrange the collection and payment. Many of these traders are involved in other
forest enterprises, especially in the transportation of timber. Thus, they have access
to the villages near forest and to transportation. Rattan trading typically makes up
about 20% of their income. They maintain long-term relationships with the factories,
procuring rattan for the same factories over a period of years. Only one of the traders
interviewed had switched, procuring some rattan for a new factory while at the same
time supplying to the old.
The main job of a trader is to organize the cutters to deliver rattan to an agreed
point with access to the road (or river) to pick up the rattan, and to deliver the same
to the rattan factory. They often make advance payment, in cash or rice, to the
collectors. They complained that sometimes they have difficulty getting the rattan
due to them when the collectors opt not to go to the forest or cannot find enough
rattan to pay back the advance. This risk is compounded by potential losses from
deterioration and shrinkage of rattan sustained during transportation. Several traders
reported that furniture manufacturers sometimes reduce the grade and pay a lower
price, but they buy all that is brought by the collectors.
The traders are responsible for ensuring that the rattan consignments are
inspected by the Forest Department. They take the load to a Forest Department office,
where it is checked and the transport certificate issued against the quota. The traders
report that they have to produce this document at as many as 20 checkpoints. At each
checkpoint they are levied an 'unofficial' charge (bribe) of around 2 000 - 3 000 kip,
or about 1 kip/cane.
Traders typically deal with 6 or 7 villages in a district, with between 15 and 20
families in each village involved in rattan collecting. They work with a particular
village for a few years, until the accessible rattan is exhausted, and then locate a new
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