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2.0 THE CASE STUDIES, A BRIEF OVERVIEW


2.1 Summary of Case Study One, Rattan Industries in East Kalimantan, Indonesia
2.2 Summary of Case Study Two, The Safety Match Industry in India
2.3 Summary of Case Study Three, Forest-Based Handicrafts Industry in Indonesia

The three case studies presented in this publication mirror the incredible diversity of FBSSEs. The first study, “The Rattan Industries in East Kalimantan, Indonesia,” focuses on a collection-based FBSSE where forest products are collected and sold with relatively limited processing. This FBSSE has developed in the absence of substantial government assistance of any kind. The following study of the safety match industry in India takes a large-scale look at a processing industry that is split into three distinct sectors by size, from household-based, cottage industry to fully mechanized, large-scale factories. This study looks at the effects of intentional government policies meant to encourage the small-scale sector. In another vein altogether, the last case study in this publication compares four distinct, forest-based handicraft processing enterprises in Indonesia. The first two of these enterprises, producing carved wooden furniture and rattan furniture and handicrafts, are representatives of successful, expanding FBSSEs. By contrast, the second pair involve traditional umbrella making and the wooden clog industry and are examples of declining FBSSEs which appear to be on their way out.

2.1 Summary of Case Study One, Rattan Industries in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, supplies 50% of the world’s raw rattan. This study by Nancy Lee Peluso examines the collection, first-stage processing and trade of rattan in the province of East Kalimantan. Both geography and ethnicity influence the rattan trade. Geographically, the richest remaining rattan resources are in the interior of the island, inhabited by indigenous tribal peoples. The interior is connected to the coast by two rivers and their tributaries. These rivers are the major arteries of transportation and the rattan collected upriver is brought downstream by Muslim traders to the predominantly Chinese exporters. The raw rattan canes undergo first-stage processing, usually downstream, before being exported to the international market. The rattan study raises some important issues concerning access to and over-exploitation of raw materials; the relationship between collectors, traders and exporters; the need for higher value processing on the island; and the nature of government policy efforts to benefit the industry.

2.2 Summary of Case Study Two, The Safety Match Industry in India

J.C. Tandon’s “The Safety Match Industry in India” examines the entire Indian match industry in great detail. A concerted effort by the Indian government to give incentives to the small-scale sector involved in match production has limited the participation of large-scale producers to one firm, M/s Wimco Ltd. a partially owned subsidiary of the Swedish Match Company. FBSSEs account for over 82% of India’s safety match production, representing a very large source of income and employment. The case study brings attention to the results of government policy interventions to favor medium-sized FBSSEs. A number of important issues are raised including: the availability of and access to raw materials; the importance of geographical location in relation to supplies and markets; the development of regional and family monopolies within FBSSEs; and the potential for exploitation of the poorest and weakest sectors of society in a low value-added FBSSE.

2.3 Summary of Case Study Three, Forest-Based Handicrafts Industry in Indonesia

Rattan is featured again in the case study by Satyawad Hadi, this time with a focus on manufacturing furniture and handicraft goods in Java. The rattan furniture and carved wooden furniture industries are both examined as examples of vigorous, expanding FBSSEs in Indonesia. These two enterprises are contrasted with two declining traditional crafts enterprises producing painted umbrellas and carved wooden clogs. Traditional umbrellas and dogs are suffering from changing demand as imported substitutes made of plastics and synthetic materials move into the local market and foreign exporters lose their interest. A number of other constraints are outlined, including the problem of increasing competition amongst wooden furniture-makers, shortages of wood and rattan, tight control over exports, and differences in access to credit.

Growing rattan seedlings


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