Case Study villages

Case study I: Lubuk Kebun, Rambahan and Situgal Villages

The three villages in Riau Province (Sumatra) - Lubuk Kebun, Rambahan, and Situgal - were located close together and shared similar general conditions; thus these villages were considered as one case study for the analyses. There were 81 people living in Lubuk Kebun Village, 250 in Rambahan Village, and 85 in Situgal Village. Each of these three villages had only one sub-village. The main ethnic group was Riau Malays, but there were also immigrants from Java and different parts of Sumatra in the villages. The main livelihood of the people in this case study site was rubber tapping. In addition to rubber, farmers mainly planted oil palm, fruit trees, acacia and agricultural crops (such as cassava, corn and soya bean). In this case study site the research focus was on an acacia partnership plantation program between the farmers and a multinational pulp and paper company (Figure 9). In this partnership each participating farmer received a minimum of two hectares of village land from the village authorities, which they leased to the company to plant, manage and harvest acacia for pulp production (starting in 1999). At the end of each rotation, farmers received the pre-agreed amount of money from the company. Acacia is fast-growing species with each rotation for fiber production set at six years. At the time of this study, the plantations were on their second rotation (Table 1).

Figure 9. Some of the incentives provided by the pulp and paper company benefited all the

villagers, such as the development of the village road, Riau, Sumatra. Case study II: Ranggang Village

Ranggang Village in South Kalimantan Province had a population of 738 people, of which most were from the Banjarnese ethnic group (approximately 80%), and the rest were Javanese. There were 10 sub-villages in the village. The main livelihood activity was rubber tapping, although farmers also planted fruit, mahogany and a range of agricultural crops such as cassava, corn and soya beans. In this case study the research focus was on mahogany planting. In order to encourage the farmers to plant trees on their private land, since 2003 the local government provided free mahogany seedlings under the GERHAN program (Figure 10). Most of the mahogany planting occurred in the two sub-villages that were dominated by Javanese people, and all silvicultural management was conducted by the farmers. There was a market for mahogany in Ranggang Village that supplied a furniture company in the neighboring sub-district. Mahogany is a moderately fast growing species, and the farmers planned to harvest the timber between 10 and 25 years. At the time of this study, the plantations were on their first rotation (Table 1).

Figure 10. Cows were able to pasture between the widely planted mahogany trees, Ranggang

Village, South Kalimantan.

Case study III: Asem Jaya (Trans 400) Village

Asem Jaya Village, South Kalimantan Province, had a population of 383 people living in eight sub-villages. The village was formerly called ‘Trans 400’, and was founded as part of the government’s transmigration program in 1970s. Thus most of the people in the village were Javanese migrants. As was the case in Ranggang Village, the main livelihood activity in this village was also rubber tapping; but in addition they also planted kadam trees, fruit trees, and agricultural crops such as cassava, corn and soya beans. In this case study the research focus was on kadam planting on farmers’ private land. The kadam seedlings were supplied by a plywood company which, at the time of the plantation establishment (starting in 2003), promised markets and income. However, at the time of the field-work the market for kadam timber was unsecure because the company that provided the seedlings went out of business. The silvicultural management in the village was conducted by the farmers. Kadam is a fast growing species, but the farmers had not planned a rotation length because of the lack of markets. At the time of the study the plantations were on their first rotation (Table 1).

Case study IV: Sendangijo and Rejosari Villages

The two sample villages in Central Java - Rejosari and Sendangijo - were also grouped as one case study because of their similar conditions related to the species planted, external support arrangements, market conditions, land-use competition, and length of timber tree planting experience. The populations of the two studied sub-villages of Rejosari Village were, 191 in Sosogan and 188 in Genjikan; and the populations of the two studied sub-villages in Sendang Ijo were 146 in Kedung Banteng and 76 in Jethis. The main livelihood activity in these two villages was agriculture (mainly rice, but also cassava, corn and soya beans) (Figure 11). In addition, most households had some family members working as migrant laborers in bigger cities in Java (e.g. in the industrial or construction sectors). Most households that had land also planted teak which was the research focus in this case study. In both villages, farmers planted teak either under their own initiative or they had received seedlings from the government’s rehabilitation program (GERHAN). The silvicultural management was conducted by the farmers themselves. Marketing teak was easy for farmers in these study sites because they could even sell individual trees to the local middlemen who then harvested and transported the wood. Teak is a moderately slow growing species, and the farmers planned to harvest timber at the approximate age of 20 years and older, depending on their needs for income. At the time of this study, the plantations were on their first rotation (Table 1).

Figure 11. In Central Java the main land use activity was paddy rice; but teak plantations can