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

Recommendations include:
1. Develop and extend improved appropriate technologies for primary processing
of rattan in the field. Improved preservation and drying would reduce losses and
improve quality of the material sold by gatherers, hopefully translating into better
prices.
2. Gatherers' associations should be further strengthened with training in technical
aspects of rattan management, including enrichment planting, sustainable harvesting
techniques and improved drying preservation and in sales and marketing.
3. Small-scale cooperatives, including gatherers' associations and small
manufacturers' associations, need better access to credit so that they can upgrade
their own facilities and perhaps do second stage processing to capture more of the
value added.
4. Small-scale processors and sub-contractors need better access to credit and
training.
5. Improve the availability of market information to raw material suppliers.
Wild Rattan in Sulawesi, Indonesia: a Case Study of the Productionto-Consumption
Systems 16
Introduction
Indonesia is by far the largest rattan-producing country in the world. In 1993,
87 770 tons of the material were exported, mainly as finished product. The country
supplies a substantial proportion of total world rattan demand, though less than the
90% it supplied in the mid-1980s. The rattan industry is a major source of income and
employment in the country; 1994 exports of rattan earned the country US$375 894
(Anonymous 1996). Several PCS can be distinguished in the country.
Sulawesi is the most important rattan-producing island in Indonesia, especially
for large-diameter species. The rattan is almost entirely harvested from the wild, and
the bulk of it is consumed by the large rattan furniture and handicrafts industries in
the country.
The total area of natural forest in Central Sulawesi is 5 176 674 ha, divided into
four forest management units (FMU). Rattan harvesting is legally permitted (with a
proper permit) from an area of 4 571 894 ha, with the remainder in reserve forest and
National Parks being technically protected. In fact, there are many areas without
16 By Sastria Astana and B.D. Nasendi (Research Group on Forestry Socio-economics, Agency for Forestry
Research and Development, Indonesia).
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