Rattan: New Life for a Forest Commodity in Kalimantan

The forest provides an abundance more than sufficient for human life, including Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) such as rattan, fruits, resin, and honey. East Kalimantan is Indonesia's second-largest rattan-producing area after Central Kalimantan. However, as one of the biggest producers, rattan has yet to become a prominent NTFP commodity. Most rattan shipped outside Kalimantan is raw, valued cheaply, and lacking added value. Ironically, the largest rattan industries are located in Gresik and Cirebon. Yet, the potential of rattan as an alternative livelihood for communities remains substantial.

Read: Abundant Harvest, Preserved Mangroves

How can this potential be unlocked? Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), in collaboration with independent consultants Indra Wardhani and Ayu Anandani Pamulia, conducted a Sustainable Rattan Commodity Study in Berau, East Kalimantan, and Bulungan, North Kalimantan. Rattan was chosen as the subject of this research due to its strong economic, cultural, and conservation values. Its environmental friendliness is evident from rattan growth requiring tree stands, making sustainable rattan cultivation dependent on the presence of trees and supporting ecosystems within the forest.

The study's chosen locations were Integrated Area Development (PWT) zones based on social forestry. PWT is a strategy to accelerate social forestry business development through multi-stakeholder involvement. The study focused on three areas representing PWT development in East and North Kalimantan. For East Kalimantan, PWT Segah Landscape covered the Teluk Sumbang Forest in Biduk-Biduk District and the Gih River Forest in Segah District.

As for North Kalimantan, the third location is the Punan Batu-Benau Sajau Forest area in Sajau District, Bulungan Regency. A key source in this study was Professor Paulus Matius, a forestry expert at Mulawarman University in East Kalimantan, who has in-depth knowledge of rattan in Kalimantan. In parallel, a supply chain and value chain study was conducted in downstream sectors across seven regencies/cities: Palu, Gresik, Lombok, Malang, Solo, Cirebon, and Samarinda.

Based on a three-month study (August-October 2024), 40 types of rattan were identified in the study locations. Of these, the species most commonly utilized by communities for commercial purposes were Rotan Manau, Rotan Sabut, and Rotan Sega.

Researchers found that proper rattan cultivation practices had not been implemented, and sustainable rattan harvesting principles still needed to be applied. More data on the number of craftsmen and weaving tools also needed to be collected. Finally, from an economic perspective, the price of stripped rattan (fitrit) ranged from IDR 25,000 to IDR 45,000, and rattan skin from IDR 45,000 to IDR 120,000 per kilogram. Prices were higher for woven products compared to Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) of palm oil, which ranged from IDR 2,630 to IDR 2,712 per kilogram (as of September 2024).

Given these conditions, the prospects for intervention in rattan development, cultivation, and processing remain wide open for industry, community, and local economy, strengthening academia, as well as conservation purposes. From a market perspective, demand for rattan is currently high, especially for rattan products certified as Sustainable Rattan (Roles).

Roles is a participatory assurance system for rattan commodities marketed globally. Community-based rattan management monitoring adheres to quality assurance standards and principles under the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). This helps ensure traceability, sustainability, system effectiveness, and credibility in achieving sustainable management.

The study's recommendations emphasize ensuring proper assistance at every level, from governance principles and supply chain to rattan value chain. When rattan has high value, it becomes a strategic conservation issue by discouraging communities from practicing slash-and-burn farming, converting forests into palm oil plantations, preserving tree stands, and reducing community interest in illegal gold mining.

Through its Community-Based Forest Conservation strategy, YKAN promotes sustainable rattan commodity development. This effort is manifested in strengthening social forestry institutions within the PWT scheme, which has existed since early 2024. Intensive assistance is ongoing in Teluk Sumbang Village to increase rattan's added value and competitiveness.