The Palu municipality in Central Sulawesi is striving to take advantage of the region's natural wealth by achieving its goal of becoming the country's foremost rattan industry center.
Palu accounts for between 50 and 60 percent of the country's total rattan output, including high quality varieties of the commodity that are much sought after on the global market.
"This is very promising. It would be very regretful if we didn't capitalize on it," Palu Mayor Rusdy Mastura said.
Data from the Palu Industrial, Trade and Cooperatives Office shows that Central Sulawesi is home to an estimated 12 endemic species of rattan, including lambang, barang, tohiti and tohiti noko.
The drive may serve as a role model for other areas in the country with rattan producing capabilities, including Cirebon, West Java and Surakarta, Central Java.
The Palu city administration has forged a partnership with the Industrial Ministry to establish the Integrated Rattan Industry and Production Center (PPIRT) in North Palu district in the Palu Industrial Zone, which was officiated by Industrial Minister Fahmi Idris recently.
The administration has also set up the Rattan Craft Development department at SMK 5 vocational school in Palu, which is tasked with developing technology, design, labeling and marketing services for the rattan industry.
The city administration provides each student at the school with a scholarship of Rp 450,000 (US$50.00) every three months to encourage interest in the trade.
The department was established last year, and currently runs two classes with a total of 75 students, school principal Kasman said.
"To prepare students to become skilled rattan craftsmen, we have hired five tutors from Surakarta and several others from Cirebon to teach design and matters concerning the rattan industry," Rusdy said.
A second grader at the school, Nazaruddin, 16, said he had opted to enroll in the rattan craft department because he wished to develop a skill to ensure his employability once he had finished school.
"When I finish schooling, I could easily open a shop. And if I'm not capable, I could just work in a rattan furniture workshop," he said.
Another student, Firdaus, said he was able to design and weave a simple rattan chair.
The municipality has also set up a rattan technical training unit (UPT) in Palu city to absorb graduates from the rattan craft department of the industry, which focuses on providing equipment, and marketing courses to help micro and small businesses produce competitive final products.
The unit has allocated funds to build two factories and a warehouse to act as supporting facilities to boost rattan production in Central Sulawesi.
According to the Palu Industrial Trade and Cooperatives Agency, 15 home-based rattan industries are being provided with technical guidance and capital, while the local UPT unit is focusing on human resources management to develop the industry and improve product quality.
"We expect graduates from the rattan craft department at SMK 5 to produce high quality rattan furniture later," Rusdy said.
Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said he hoped Palu could develop a high quality rattan industry that could compete globally.
To secure raw material supply, the Palu city administration has encouraged farmers around Uventumbu, North Palu, to grow rattan.
Based on city data, more than 100 hectares of land in the area are rattan plantations. Farmers in the area are expected to reap a combined harvest of at least 600 tons of rattan at the end of March next year.
Palu Industrial Trade and Cooperatives Office head Aminuddin Aco said total harvest output from the Uventumbu area would meet the PPIRT's target to ensure supply to the industry.
However, Indonesia's rattan industry must be able to export to ensure its survival.
Chairman of the Indonesian Rattan Craft and Furniture Association Hatta Sinatra said a failure to export products had left a number of companies on the brink of bankruptcy.
According to Hatta, 144 of the 426 rattan producers in the country have declared bankruptcy, while the majority of the remainder are able to export very few containers of rattan products each month.
A new government policy capping total exports of raw rattan means that the country's 11 companies capable of exporting 75 to 150 containers of the commodity per month can only ship 25 containers per month.
"It indicates that the raw rattan export policy is unhelpful," Hatta said.
The policy is crippling the industry's ability to compete with other exporters on the global market, such as China and Vietnam, which are not confined by such regulations.
Consequently, overseas buyers prefer rattan furniture manufactured in China and Vietnam, Hatta said.
Indonesia currently produces between 250,000 and 300,000 tons of rattan, or between 80 and 85 percent of global production.
