Baca PDF (OCR): Culture, ecology and livelihood in the Tinombo Region of Central Sulawesi

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
the Tinombo Region of Central Sulawesi
Tania Li
with the cooperation of Sulaiman Mamar
Environmental Management Development
in Indonesia Project (EMDI)

EMDI
The Environmental Management Development in Indonesia Project (EMDI) is designed to upgrade
environmental management capabilities through institutional strengthening and human resource
development. A joint project of the Ministry of State for Population and Environment (KLH) and
the School for Resource & Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, EMDI supports IG^H's
mandate to provide guidance and leadership to Indonesian agencies and organizations responsible for
implementing environmental management and sustainable development. Linkages between
Indonesian and Canadian organizations and individuals in the area of environmental management
are also fostered.
Currently in its third phase, EMDI has received generous funding from the Canadian International
Development Agency at each stage. CIDA provided C$2.5 million to EMDI-1 (1983-1986),
C$7.7 million of EMDI-2 (1986-1989), and is contributing C$31.1 million (base budget) to
EMDI-3 (1989-1994). Significant contributions, direct and in kind, have been made by KLH and
Dalhousie University.
EMDI-3 emphasizes spatial planning and regional environmental management, environmental
impact assessment, environmental standards, hazardous and toxic substance management, marine
and coastal environmental management, environmental information systems, and environmental
law. The opportunity for further study is offered through fellowships and internships for qualified
individuals. Within the publications program. The Ecology of Indonesia Series is supported.
Linkages with NGOs and die private sector are encouraged.
EMDI supports the University Consortium on the Environment comprising Universitas Gadjah
Mada, Universitas Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung, the University of Waterloo, and York
University. Included in EMDI activities at Dalhousie University are research fellowships and
exchanges for senior professionals in Indonesia and Canada, and assistance for Dalhousie graduate
students undertaking thesis research in Indonesia.
For further information about the EMDI Project, please call or write:
EMDI Project
School for Resource Proyek EMDI
& Environmental Studies Kantor Menteri Negara
Dalhousie University Kependudukan dan Lingkungan Hidup
1312 Robie Street or Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat 15
Halifax, N.S. Canada B3H 3E2 Jakarta 10110
Tel: 902-429-3632 Indcxiesia
Fax: 902-429-3728 Tel: 62-21-380-7566 or 62-21-380-2183
Cosy: EMDIHFX Fax: 62-21-380-2182
Telex: 019-21863 Cosy: EMDUKT
Envoy: SRES

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
the Tinombo Region of Central Sulawesi
©
printed on recycled paper

EMDI Environmental Reports, 6
Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
in the Tinombo Region of Central Sulav^esi
by
Tania Li
with the cooperation of Sulaiman Mamar
Environmental Management
Development in Indonesia Project (EMDI)
Jakarta and Halifax

Environmental Management Development in Indonesia
EMDI is a joint project of the Ministry of State for Population and Environment, Government of
Indonesia, and the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada. It is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
EMDI Project
School for Resource
and Environmental Studies
Dalhousie University
1312 Robie Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 3E2
Proyek EMDI
Menteri Negara Kependudukan
dan Lingkungan Hidup
Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat 15
Jakarta 10010
Indonesia
© 1991 Tania Li. All rights reserved.

Nova
is Assistant Professor and Canada Research Fellow, Department of Sociology and
Nova
Mamar, M.A. is member Tadulako (UNTAD), Palu,
Canadian Cataloging in Publication
Li, Tania, 1959-
Culture, ecology and livelihood in the Tinombo Region of Central Sulawesi
(EMDI environmental reports, ISSN 1 181-6457; 6)
ISBN0-7703-0463-X

1. conditions. 2. Tinombo Region (Indonesia)- Economic 3. Land tenure--— Tinombo4. Rural development—

• TinomboI. II. Management Development in (Project). III. Title. IV.

EMDI;6.
HN710. T56L5 C91 -097648-1

ABSTRACT
The study addresses the issue of livelihood security in the context of agrarian transformation in the

uplands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It has the practical goal of describing the ways in which
make more adequate and The study analyses
optional and changing systems of new
tree alter the relationship
field many
in
Pan One in
hills hills.
Two
state official
hills and economy. some
national The Appendix
from
Uvehhood in
ABSTRAK
Studi ini bcrhubungan dengan masalah jaminan matapencaharian dalam konteks perubahan soal-
soal yang bcrhubungan dengan pertanian dataran tinggi di Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia. Tujuan
praktisnya adalah menguraikan cara mendapatkan matapencaharian, serta mengidentifikasi kendala-
kendala ekologi, ekonomi dan politik/hukum terhadap usaha-usaha dari penduduk di dataran tinggi
tersebut untuk mengubah matapencaharian mereka menjadi lebih baik d^ lebih lerjamin. Studi ini
menganalisis sistem yang tradisional dan sistem yang berubah-ubah dari produksi pertanian, dan
memperhatikan implikasi-implikasi dari bentuk-bentuk baru dari produksi, seperti usaha-tani tunai
yang didasarkan pada pohohn-pohohn yang diusahakan, yang secara radikal mengubah hubungan
antara populasi dan lingkungan dengan mendefmisi uland hubungan-hubungan sosial dari akses
terhadap lahan dan tenaga kerja. Berdasarkan penelitian-penelitian lapangan secara lokal dan terinci,
studi ini mengamati masalah-masalah yang bcrhubungan dengan daerah dataran tinggi lainnya di
Indonesia, dan di daerah Sulawesi.
Bagain pertama menguraikan pola-pola sejarah dan kontemporer dari matapencaharian dalam tiga
daerah agroekologi yang berbeda; daerah pantai, daerah pegunungan bagian tengah dan daerah
pegunungan bagian dalam. Dalam tiap daerah tersebut, kecenderungan-kecenderungan masa kini
yang ada diamati dari potensi perspektipnya untuk mempertinggi atau mengurangi jaminan
matapencaharian mereka. Bagian kedua menyelidiki aspek-aspek budaya, politik dan ekonomi dari
hubungan di antara ketiga daerah tersebut, dalam konteks keadaan dan ekonomi yang lebih luas.
Hal ini mencakup persepsi resmi dari para pemukin dataran tinggi, sistem permerintah daerah,
program-program pembangunan yang direncanakan, dan hubungan perdagangan antara daerah
pegunungan dan dengan ekonomi daerah maupun dunia. Bagian ketiga menyajikan beberapa
rekomendasi-rekomendasi untuk bahan pertimbangan bagi pemerintah pusat dan daerah. Lampiran-
lampirannya menganalisis survei rum^tangga dan data dari beberapa studi kasus dari masing-
masing daerah, yang menunjukkan adanya keragaman dari strategi-strategi matapencaharian yang
dijalankan di daerah tersebut
V

5.

J
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2015
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https://archive. 0 rg/details/cultureecologyliOOtani

1. Introduction 1
   1.1 and

CONTENTS
Abstract V
Illustrations xi
Acronyms xiii
Acknowledgments XV
Part One
Culture, Ecology and Livelihood

History Culture 7
Interhousehold 13
Functioning 13
1.2.2 Interhouschold 15
16
Location, Livelihood Strategies 16
1.3.2 17
1.3.3 19
1.3.4 Plain 19
Foothills 21
1.3.6 Other Opportunities the Coastal 2k)ne 24
1.3.7 of Strategies 25
1.3.8 Patterns of 25
Hills 26
Location, Strategies 26
1.4.2 the Hills 28
1.4.3 Intensification of 29
1.4.4 to the Introduction of Tree 32
1.4.5 Use: of 33
1.4.6 Allocation: of the 34
1.4.7 of Class Differentiation 35
1.4.8 Issues the Hills 36
12 Households and Exchanges
1.2.1 Household Form and
1.3.1 Land Use and The Sea and SeaShore The Mangroves The Coastal
1.3.5 The
1.4 The Middle
1.4.1 Land Use and Livelihood The Swiddcn Cycle in Middle

Exchange
13 The Coastal Zone
Wage in
Combination
Consumption
Land Use
Background Crops
Changing Land The Displacement Food Production
Changing Land The Displacement Poor
The Emergence
Gender in Middle
vii

Hills 37
1.5.1 Location, Strategies 37
1.5.2 39
1.5.3 Forest 41
1.5.4 42
1.5.5 Interaction the Hills 42
1.5.6 Class 46

1.5 The Inner
2. Introduction 51
2.1 Cultural Distinctions 51

Land Use and Livelihood
The Farming System
The and Its Resources
Land Rights
with Other Lauje in
and Social Differentiation
Part Two
Linkages Between the Zones in the Wider Context
Culture, Politics and Economics

22
2.2.1 Local Government
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2
3.1 Effects of National Laws and Policies

23
Pan Three
Recommendations for Consideration

Policy Considerations: 71
at the Local Level
3.1.1 Indigenous 71
3.1.2 Taix 71
3.1.3 71

People
Laws
Tree Crops
33 Programming Considerations: Development Approaches 72
Appropriate to Local Diversity

3.2.1 Zone Middle

viii

3J tlie Intended
Women, Men and Children
Open Information and Incentives
IX

FIGURE 1 Transect Through the Zones 5

ILLUSTRATIONS
MAP 1 Indonesia xvii
MAP 2 Central Sulawesi xvii
MAP 3 Research Areas xix
XI

ACRONYMS
BAPPEDA Provincial Development Planning Board
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
EMDl Environmental Management Development in Indonesia
KXN Student Work Program
KLH Ministry of State for Population and Environment
LKMD Village Development Board
LMD Village Council
PBB Land and Property Tax
PKK Family Welfare Education
RK Sub-sub-village division
RT Neighbourhood Unit
SRBP Sulawesi Regional Development Project
UNTAD Tadulako University, Palu
Xlll

Canadian Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council, Dalhousie University, and the Environmental Management
The School
at
Funding
Development Project (SRDP) of the Indonesian Directorate General of Regional Development
Tadulako
The Indonesian Research Council (LIPI)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
this
Development in (EMDI) EMDI is
Emironment (KLH) and Dalhousie
and Environmental is
is
this document been
and Guelph
The is in
(UNTAD), Mamar worked
and collaborated in
in is
The support KLH EMDI,
due
at
in Tinombo
UNTAD
field. Conover and
Babcock of SRDP reviewed and gave
The most important
and district officials, who
in
SRDP UNTAD
Nourse
Dutch
knowledge gained
and Muhammad
and Tim
Tinombo
and
It is hope and
in this
XV

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MAP 2 CENTRAL
SULAWESI
XVI 1

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Part One
Culture, Ecology and Livelihood

INTRODUCTION
The research reported here has two goals. The first is an immediate practical goal: to analyse
livelihoods are obtained in the area, and to

to appropriate parties
on ways in
made more adequate and The
is where the livelihoods of the population
on
from
is its meet the
Economic: ensuring a demand and fair
in
and other resources from which livelihood
is freedom
good ability
skills all full
in
shown do not exist:
moving people somewhere else, new-all
in is
Consensus up on
it is in
knowledge and skills
Backward
good them
comes about in If
government and
facilitate good on what is
is
The in this is is
and analysis in At the national level,
and Environment (KLH) has responsibility
between and environment,
CIDA At regional level, around Tinombo
Development Planning Board (BAPPEDA)
initiatives
CIDA). The and
initiatives.

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
The second goal of the research is to advance the state of knowledge regarding the processes

and mechanisms of agrarian transformation in upland areas. In particular, the research focuses
on the changing Such
depends on and
state. A lies
between population and environment
The Tinombo area is The
is activities
The rush is one example. Even more new
emerge
new between men and women, and
more and money
elites and and whole
market and the
state. and
and how how
own knowledge and
The two goals The difficulties by poor
in and adequate much
embedded do to
soil, etc). Proposed fail
at
On the positive side, such analysis can lead
grounded life, and
improve their lot.
The Study
lie Tinombo

1). The term is

and Tomini site The
Dongkas, Tinombo, Lombok, Dusunan and Tibu Kecamatan Tinombo, and Bobalo
Kecamatan Tomini. At this is one two
and The became
when still unpaved trans-Sulawesi highway was
The mountain by and
and require fording and streams. As is
The who its
known and refer to themselves
A from Tinombo area
management
human activities (soil, and the
engaged in. The concept and
between population and environment.

FIGURE
1:
TRANSECT
THROUGH
THE
ZONES

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
The zones hills

(3) the inner refined distinctions micro-zones could

and hills. Although more between be
made, named way
and be Each and
making a living, there is
between households, according both
and
modes
and managed are undergoing
One and and
modes of
The major criticed
Two
and the wider economy. It and
its
the government and the design
Trade relations between the
and and national economy
between
Three at more
and the now Both and
and pitfalls
and
The Appendix from These
made in One
and pursue a
some added depth and quality of information. The Appendix
and between them.^
^The exchange rates at the time of research were approximately US$1 = Rpl,800 and CanSl
Rpl,500.

l.l HISTORY AND CULTURE

and economic in Tinombo is

complex all
and is
diversity in
and present The
is
in
The term Lauje means it is known when how came to, and
in Tinombo hills. The Lauje
hill 15 km from and the
foothills. is of migratory movements, and
Near is "at
in many
The Lauje consider "all common origin,
life now some living in hills the
in hills, still The
on the them
is in common
interpretations of that
it,
all in hills live on the where they
They made occasional expeditions make
salt living in hills some
living more on
in The other group,
at unknown practicing
may have been based upon
between it may have been
some and small family-based groups preferring life in the
more sedentary form of
The more is in hills and on the coast by the term
The is membembelan, which means and get
know someone, and in
and and in It is
between certain middle hill It
and At some in
and some it
For this will in this
when quoting from
who themselves used Here the term
hill will be used more who and
who and lifestyle
them from the middle
hill below The hill is

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
to Islam, styles of dress and linguistic patterns vary by degrees, and not along clear cut physical
social boundaries. of variability is an additional reason to avoid the term bela,

which can give a misleading impression of boundedness, as if the people so designated were a
The hill when call
There are
between the people
hills and those in hills. One is is
on and two
and there was no
asymmetry between them since they are "both older and
An
For many
and the bela the The men
and women
An is was no among
hills To one group
hills. For fear of being discovered,
grow food and
began on in hills, and
dependence upon the generosity of the middle hill made them
The same informant hill
were and was men
women coming live
Nourse favours the former and between
hills and mountain below them
hills, coming of the
much later. The also
between the inner hill and
hill There some
and usage which hills from
hills and on the intelligible. Some
many hill
hills, It is
two more in
merged or been
merged one becoming some
soils and agricultural practices have
and are part of the definitions of cultural The more moist and
fertile soils hills is
It
and in hills, it seems be As
hills and corn, which have seasons and
on the inner hill them They
go hill gift,
hill
hill and at

History and Culture
times of the year, although, for reasons to be described below, that pattern is no longer
common.
in more

90). group that went dowTi to the coast took with the highest office, that of

among when some members live
and intermarried with neighbouring groups such as the and
Many on this Nourse 1989:75 and
The it ritual
The
common kingdoms in
officials at in Dusunan (Nourse
The Tomini
in some continued up
woman,
and placed in ritual in hill
She and rice
The saw mountain who were
ritual and who were animist.
It is in hills, who
grow corn and rice, and who
were in ritual
were this who do like
A Dutchman who in in was found in
They
(this is name inner hill
They numbered about and were
They seldom involved
in
The Tinombo area was
until monopoly on the
Tinombo was
in The Dutch first
Mandar sovereign based in Moutong, who
Tinombo was Dutch accounts
Tinombo was Mandar etc.)
Tobacco was one hill from
and this Tinombo was known around in
and resin were
most remote dwellers economy Nourse
The Dutch that, due and
"all hills
He most likely
from made no mention

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
The Dutch became a more prominent

when Bay and
and Mandar Rajahs, who were
from at Dusunan Nourse
of this period). The Dutch were
hills
and to engage
and bridges
Some
They are the ancestors of the
commoner some whom
became
The
Dusunan ended up
the
Dutch
encouragement further along the coast to the west,
and Sidoan (Nourse
grow food, and
These been
is
Dutch allowed them
hill were
founded or refounded by returnees,
founded by ancestors who were
hills from
Many hill Dutch order move
Mandar and Bugis
Many had
may have remained They were,
hill depended upon trade with the middle
and corn.
more and more distinct. in
Fewer households now
and
still mid Nourse
and
market products in
and clothes"
The economic and
in hills now grow some
crops such as garlic and shallots. Those who live
gardens marked in
hills, whose
it become overworked and infertile
makes it attractive some middle hill men marry
Modes when
sale, them
and by fleeing further
The most remote
hill
become both
become more
from
Some
bush
and
They
and many grow rice,
on newly
hill communities closer to the
hill
where they get

History and Culture
hill who once

The hill still, upon grown hill
them and waiting periods between
It is hill who now less likely and in
it it or, most
commonly, do without, as they still The
more
in Two. As it some
hill at now farming in
and in hills below them. Few
hill now live and farm in
The boundaries more From about
in hills
government and
in new Indonesia (Nourse Those who have not converted
hill now hill
meaning beyond The hill most at
of, hill
them very
in combined and in
new forms Muslim
become rampant, destroying corn fields and making
Muslim on good
hill them come and their
home them They
borrow a corner of inner
hill some will
emergency food store difficult in when
fail. Wild pigs also attack inner hill much less
and
The process is
and complex, since
some all hill in and
and
first in community
and in Tinombo Other
and Simoie converted subsequently. The
become Muslim. The
new
between boundary at Simoie.
in Lombok.
at work in and districts
all
some who

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
primary forest, or live near the forest people who are "different", besides which they like the
convenience of proximity to the coastal market. This suggests that the Christians have
developed their own sense of superiority in relation to those occupying the forest border zone,
a hierarchy based on degrees of civilization and primitiveness similar to that adopted by the
Muslims of Taipaobal towards all the people who live inland of them. For this reason, the
Christians object particularly strongly to the designation bela, since they see themselves as "the
Lauje people", not primitives, adhering to a "modern" world religion as good as any other, and,
they consider, more advanced in health, education, and farming than the Muslims in the middle
hiUs below them.
In the forest frontier region of Bobalo, where the cultural and religious dividing lines seem to
be less embedded than in Lombok, a somewhat different form of transition seems to be
occurring. In Li and Mamar(1990) the dynamics on the frontier were interpreted as a process
of movement and displacement, as the inner hill people clear forest land, then move further
inland while Muslim middle hill people fill in from below. From an ecological point of view,
this interpretation is correct: the forest along the frontier is cleared, and gradually becomes
more heavily farmed and settled; the people living there are unwilling to shift long distances to
allow lands to fallow properly, and, over a period of decades, the productivity of the land
deteriorates. From a cultural point of view the interpretation needs to be revised. It is not that
the Muslims from the middle hills displace the inner hill people: instead, some of the people
in the frontier zone choose to stay put, and gradually fill in the land with generations of their
descendents, while others choose to move off to other areas further inland, pushing at the forest
frontier, or to other distant places inland where they have kin and long-fallowed gardens. The
latter pattern is the one considered by coastal and middle hill people to be typical of those who
live in the inner hills: always on the move, and always in the forest. In fact, this image can be
misleading.
The communities in the inner hills are not highly mobile. Some communities have been settled
for many generations in one area, slowly adding to their stock of land at the forest frontiers,
and farming mostly on secondary forest land, commonly fallowed for five to fifteen years. As
they reach the boundaries of the available land resources in a particular valley, they have a
range of strategies open to them. They can begin colonizing a new forest area, ideally a
neighbouring valley, in order to establish a longer cycle in which they can move between the
two areas, allowing the forest to regenerate thoroughly during the fallow period. Another
strategy involves some members of the group becoming pioneers and moving off to quite new
and distant areas to establish a new settlement, although still maintaining rights to their old
secondary forest lands, which are borrowed in the meantime by those who stay behind. The
third alternative is to accept a shorter fallow cycle and, as population pressures increase, the
slowly declining productivity of their lands and/or a transition to a different form of farming,
with a different range of crops possibly more similar to those grown by the middle hill people
below them.
Those who stay for many generations in an area often do so because of a desire to remain
within reach of the coastal markets, and because they have become comfortable with the idea
of government authority. Those who convert to Islam, and begin to define themselves as
"village people" {prang kampon^, claim an affinity with the cultural and religious attributes of
the coastal villages, including the fact that their lands are more densely settled and farmed, like
a village, rather than being dispersed in the forest, as is the case with some of those living deep
in the inner hills. Having converted to Islam, and adopted a coastally oriented life-style and
identity, it is more difficult for them to move off deeper into the hills and become pioneers

Households and Interhouseholds Elxchanges
feel To move would

1.2.1 HOUSEHOLD AND FUNCTIONING The is in No is made, The

among whom
if in one many have
no in deep and
is rifts in
more complex and economic
is in made and affiliations Three prominent themes in
in
in
in
Malay speaking, some elite;
and fluidity name,
An is
life and It
who why and how does this
in more
hill hill
HOUSEHOLDS AND INTERHOUSEHOLD EXCHANGES
Economic activities and
in it is
some general
in
be analysed explicitly.
Economic
A in
and There is some fields
it is is some where
Husband and may produce fields
same field),
and managed on Women
autonomy in and
in

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
women

own activities,
and goats or petty
activities. women’s
A woman
between husband and wife as one where you "Work separately but eat together."
The own and is
women, who it if husband tends
gamble or be
Women own Some
women own
from and do the As one woman
warned "it is Some married women hills
own and it is do
Upon husband and wife are considered to be
work
new and if
statistics on divorce are hard The Muslim marriage Tinombo
five From
number of women
it is is The and
may keep been
by hills. fairly, and
impose and other sanctions upon the offending party so that divorce, although common,
is
women, whether unmarried,
abandoned or widowed, farm on own
Some live if
accompany them. Those of marriageable more live
They thus form
and sources of livelihood are often
from those of the household unit they
These women farm income
Women
hills: rice, male
it
example is widow who allowed a
Young
new been shift
women from
accompanying when

Household and Interhouschold Exchanges

e.xtra embarrassment if do not go groom make assist young couple. hills,
1.2.2. Interhousehold exchanges

fields, in and
income is
young make snacks in at From age
may have own farms in ground nuts
Unmarried youth do
is
them field, field
Mothers and may
boy to weed, but expect some consideration in
when comes in harv'est. There is no suggestion
owe do
in
in
sometimes mother money it
when Young men in hills and on the coast
wedding expenses,
payment (common sums in
and
groom is more common lives
activities in
try economic base. The
is
in hills
An outcome is
to augment still and
new
The in hills
who seeking wage opportunities
all
hill
when needed finally
is
at in on it.
other activities,

One is means and
a spirit It occurs most among and
when one overwhelmed and up
unannounced at field The is
on another occasion, but this is "when I my
is difficulties, I

1.3.1 LOCATION, LAND USE AND LIVELIHOOD STItATEGIES The zone described here

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
The second form of labour exchange is mendunduluan, which means mutual help, and refers
to a definite agreement among a group of people, usually kin or neighbours, to work for a day
on each others farms in turn, until the cycle is complete. Two to ten people commonly
cooperate in this way, men and women forming separate groups. The tasks undertaken can be
diverse, fencing on one farm, clearing brush on another, according to the task that most
urgently needs to be done.
The third form of exchange is mesug, which involves inviting ten to twenty specific households,
some perhaps from further away than the immediate neighbourhood. They are called to work
for a day on a large task such as planting rice or shallots, or clearing land. Food must be
provided, preferably a sweet snack and rice with fish, although cheaper substitutes are also
offered. The cash outlay prevents many households from engaging in this practice. There is
an expectation that labour given in a mesug will be returned at some future date, although
records are apparently not kept, and the importance of return is not stressed, since a return in
the form of food was provided at the time. It is the household that is invited to participate, and
husband, wife or working aged child can represent the household. In both the mesug form of
exchange and mendunduluan, the worker is expected to be able bodied: not too young or old
to do their share.
Apart from labour, food is the most significant item exchanged between households, particularly
those in the hills. When corn or rice is harvested, up to one third is given away within the first
few days to kin and neighbours who come to help with the work, or who are invited specifically
to come and collect a share to take home. Reciprocity is expected, but not calculated: the
family will in turn taste the harvest of its neighbours and kin, the amount they receive
depending on the success of the harvest and their own needs at the time. Root crops are not
harvested at any specific time, but when requested are given freely among kin and neighbours.
These forms of food sharing act to ensure a continuous supply of staple foods in between
harvests, and a security net should a harvest fail. It also provides some security for those
unable to provide for themselves for whatever reason. People claim that there is no shame in
asking for food from kin and neighbours if yours is not ripe, but also feel that free-loading, or
expecting others to provide for your family all the time, is unusual. As one farmer stated "if
I did that, these eight children would never have grown big."
Food exchanges between people in the different zones are also highly significant in the local
economy. They were described briefly above are explained in more detail in Part Two.
On a day to day basis, households are autonomous in their economic activities, endeavouring
to meet their own needs for food and for labour, and asking for help from others only in
certain circumstances. Changing social relations of production, both within and between
households, will be the focus of further intensive research.
13 THE COASTAL ZONE
and the nearest

facing the coast up The research area curves around
Dongkas The coastal
is seldom more than a kilometre wide, although

The Coastal Zone
hundred

The is
The in away homes and
Lombok hills
Tinombo market. The Tinombo area is
no land suitable wet The described
hills it is who make
There number of modes in
in Class
is all
The
management and
its
THE AND
some Lauje have become fishers,
skills, and possibly some of the ancestors of the present
Each five in
Women little role in in and fish, this
activities The wives of fishermen are engaged
economic activities, some
hill which
No men depend The
in
Those who have more expensive and more productive equipment can
They seldom engage in is
activity some in
if some of whom own
their activities fish eat", some over on
good sell in buy and
bag of sugar. The
is wage manual
in
upon It is
The is when blow
September December is from
blow the to
Depending on home from Tinombo, fish
may be on the beach, peddled around the at
Tinombo fish Fishermen from Dongkas sometimes
fails sell if late in Tinombo A
in Tinombo have in
and drying of fish is
If quantities some of from off-shore

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
rafts (rompong) can be dried, but only one relatively highly capitalized fisherman preserves fish
for sale in other markets as far along the coast as Parigi. The majority of the fish caught is
sold and consumed immediately, since there is no refrigeration. Several fishers consider the
localized nature of the markets to be a limitation on the profitability of fishing, and a
disincentive for further investment in the fishing sector. Some fishers note a decline in near-
shore fish stocks since the destruction of the mangroves (see below).
The fishing equipment in common use and its approximate capital costs and returns is as
follows:
Rompong: a bamboo raft, anchored to the sea bottom by means of a weighted rattan
line about 1 km long, and positioned 2-5 km from the shore. It acts as a "fish
aggregating device", the fish actually being caught by lines or nets (see Zerner, n.d.).
Cost estimates vary from Rp50-250,000, depending on size and how much of the rattan
is purchased rather than being collected directly from the forest. It lasts at most a year
before the lines rot and the raft is lost in a storm. It is sometimes owned by two or
more people in partnership, because of the large capital investment, and the necessity
to check the device daily. Fishermen estimate that they have a major catch, valued at
about Rp30,000, at most twice a month. The men line fish on the way to inspect the
rompong, a task that must be undertaken daily.
Pukat: a seine. Two types are in use. A large beach seine, used near the shore,
requiring a specialised large perahu manned by a crew of eight men. The cost is
estimated at Rp4-600,000 for the net, and Rpl50,000 for the boat. The catch is
divided, half to the crew, and half to the owner of the equipment. A small seine,
measuring one meter by one hundred meters, is set by one person along the edge of
the mangroves. The cost of the net is Rp25,000, and the total set is Rp60,000 including
weights and lines. The expected return is Rpl-5,000 per day.
Milkfish nets: these are made of green nylon mesh on a triangular bamboo frame, with
an area of about six square meters. They are pushed along the sea bottom near the
shore to catch the minute, transparent milkfish used for cultivating in fish ponds. The
nets, which cost Rp25,(XK) are owned by a dealer, and loaned to fishing families who
receive Rpl5, rather than the market price of Rp25 per fish. The dealers appoint a
local fisherman to act as an agent, in return for a ten per cent commission. The peak
season is during the monsoon from the east, when families can earn Rpl,500 to
Rp30,000 per day, men, women and children taking it in turns to use the net
continuously. Households whose production is insufficiently high find their net
withdrawn by the dealer. This form of fishing has occurred only during the past five
years.
Perahu: a wooden canoe made locally by specialists. The price of a new two-person
perahu is Rp60,000 and a one-person perahu Rp35,000.
Baskets: without boats or nets, large groups of women catch anchovies {nike) in the
river mouth when there is no moon, and dry and salt them for sale and for their own
consumption. Men sometimes use the large beach seine for the same purpose, and can
catch up to 35kg of the fish in one night, valued at Rp750 per kg when dry.

Vie Coastal Zone

1.3.3 THE NLANG ROVES

at mouth and fish prawns by
and made from
and bamboo, and made from

The mangroves

Some
when made mangrove
if empty when returning would stop fdl up with wood. The most
between and boom in from
The is down where it
in The is in huge
pits. Mangrove wood, which has good burning is
oil, and during the height of the rattan boom large quantities were being consumed
daily. A is
mangrove area which runs
Tinombo at much Desa Dongkas.
About 40 hectares of former mangrove been
and allocated to applicants in lots. The land was officially
titles There is no on how
was how many
Many officials and from Tinombo. Few
this
rights, wood on open
mangrove
The pond is in The ponds
in in in
The titles hampers There is little mature
mangrove left on the
Wage in fish hand and is
It is
a fish
seemed unaware No
THE COASTAL PLAIN
The in first still
Ownership of coastal land is still There
some titles most common form is
The document can be
and the five
and the land
in between them. many vendors made little
between the two
With demand and new
smart buyers try to insist on the

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
latter version, and look out for coconut trees that are distantly spaced, thereby acquiring more

land for the price of the trees.
The is A few amassed
sale, and buying them up
on a piecemeal Some
who was born Tinombo
now owns 75% of all
and coastal land around the
Tomini The elite own There are many
enough make much impact on
enough them upon which is built.
The majority and along
hills, do not own the land upon which
They live They obtain permission
from the land owner
banana and cassava. If
sometimes be made with the owner to share the new
come Some have
is and and has rainfall,
it is in
and cattle.
activities in income some
who live on the
on a piece rate
skill and The
down fruit; fruit and loading the
fruit and
Where owners have
in will and
fire. The and estimated daily returns
-Rpl50-175 per Rp2-7000 per day
-Rp6 fruit, full
fruit
-Rpl fruit
-fruit
-RplOO per
Each is no
first one owner’s
in more labourers than demand and
most work Most have
call them exists. between harvests, the
The slump in Rp500 per kilogram
Rpl90 per in in work opportunities in
owners may fruit it

The Coastal Zone
Anyone is coconuts fall in between and this

1.3.5 The main activity: and

oil activities women
on fruit sell them women. A
on this activity in some is
Women Tinombo and
The women process
The
sells Rp300 Rpl50
(sL\ fruit at
Trade is commonly undertaken by people who live and work on the coastal The
for in
trees. The
owner of coconut in who from Tinombo,
is Medium
owners often engage in
and handling the main exports from
fifty
in (known The
women, who have no and who
sums of Rp5-20,000. They in
fruit and A fuller women
and activities is in
The is
in The
owned by whose goats and
on hillsides. The woody
sell by and stalls in Tinombo.
is activity is engaged in
The wood sells
One cut, and two
this activity this it is
at wood is at Rpl50 per bundle,
wood Tinomobo.
Women sometimes be wood along
The in Tinombo lie in
No official rainfall Tinombo,
at 20km may
somewhat
no in hills
Tinombo can
east. The farming season begins in June or Corn is
main crop planted, with some shallots The land is fertile
soil and the farming
soil. The is commonly left five more The
is i.e.

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
hills

is Newly cleared
from
Many on do foothills,
There are a number of reasons this. The
main and time.
of from
months while the corn grows.
weeded and protected from
Some is
be most two month’s supply of corn as a
do work
still hillsides,
sometimes misses the season if man whose is and
is at
It is common one perimeter
and ease the problem from The composition is
on kinship ties, and members change from year
An m is:
m
seldom worked because of the need
up two months, by which time weeds have begun to sprout even before the corn is
The deployment of women’s labour is Once men have and
all
men Some
men engage
If women oil
may when men’s labour is
Apart from coconut oil production, coastal women’s income generating opportunities are
manual labour, A woman augment her income by growing
Women’s is sometimes
is and
The means no family could survive on
be managed
activities,
and farming, are pursued
whenever
on seem
some no one knows who were the

The Coastal Zone
who may do

e.xist, may who borrow land The to tree is

borrow The bald
in They generally
who first if is
open Anyone who it
is welcome try. The is little
where land on which is fertile,
and is it
Few in foothills, in lightly
begun Where
section hills, it is
and
Two. Three proposes some ways in
The labour squeeze
hillside These problems are magnified when
some distance
activities oil
however sometimes fail imposed
is crucial
ability its lot
manage Some have planned live
work on new maintains wage earning
activities will oil on
The
in Two.
A in foothills
is and processed by extended soaking
Ondot grows in lightly
and the grassy foothills,
in some areas has been eaten
more commented severity economic
difficulties
Sago palms in
Owners make roofing materials from palm sell raw materials to others who
do the work. work are in
is source women. At
been an epidemic killing and most
women had lost Such
at women
and first

1.3.6 OTHER WAGE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COASTAL ZONE Wage There are many more

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
buyers from Palu visited the area regularly looking for chickens, and any increased production
could very easily be marketed.

is demand The average wage work
is men work own some young
men and women from Young men work
on large
in endowed with
away from home village. The women
stalls homes in Men on compete wage opportunities with
men from hills who
is and there is little will
Some young men from
work outside the on
more common is
and still
level, and provides a source of income men in all
is
The entrepreneur advances cash and who
amount of at
The in and sugar,
man is and him him the men go
and neighbours, and stay there home
some is The
meet immediate crisis, is goods
in and the weak bargaining
A
and being forced round
when more on work
at Rp Rp2-4000 per day before
There is all
mature rattan has now been extracted,
and returns
new The workers down on
where is
work is many men
it.
Much is from no There is one
Workers
this mostly As many men
were employed at in There are now around

The Coastal Zone
in. Workers are paid on a piece

Men same community at worked in
Tinombo, before the road was built. employment was from the
until in
have wage labouring
main means of
A wage opportunity in fields
is
its work is
six discussion it is elites who own
km field it is who most
work
officials in five The town
Tinombo, kecamatan number officials. Many
have recently branched
made more fish They
it government
COMBINATION OF STRATUGIES
in
set
cattle, Households
in bamboo sale,
activities in
Widows and abandoned women are among it is
them
is more men women.
Coconut oil is main activity, at
OF CO.NSUMPTION
great The
and fish at
lit Many fail meet
fish The
is on
Assuming man is work at wage
makes Rpl,000 from oil,
of Rpl

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
litres@

@Rp Rp
kg sugar@Rpl,000
tin measure of coffee@Rp Rp
@Rp Rp @Rp Rp @Rp Rp
fish@Rp Rpl,000
Rpll,000
These are very minimal standards of consumption,
festivals, A more adequate minimum would
Rp20,000 per week.
THE MIDDLE HILLS
LOCATION, LAND USE AND LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES
It was noted above Tinombo area lie in on
from over the mountains across the peninsula to the north and west. As it is
few make homes and most do
activities on the
The hill at where
m its dew and rainfall, make
more corn crops per Households farming in hills make
home and committed life. However, few
in is due to a number of
rainfall, soils, and the ravages of the wild pig.
The fertile. The top soil is, most
and The farmed
commonly some
made good
and bamboo,
and through occasional wage work on the
an important element of farmers’
and limitation on movement is
on and still some
made good through
hill this is in is
between two more extreme lifestyle and
The and background to the middle hill To
hill who
on the coast early this
hills, in Dusunan and moved hills from
and began clearing hill in A few mentioned

Vxe Middle Hills
money hillside and

were elite payment at
at been
hill in now Muslims
political and in farmed and
The adherence hill
consume foods such and dried fish
and make between themselves and hill
culturally
abundance damage and
left five
good soil.
The area is difficult
The follownug some
map
villagers. its in
hills, is little it is Lombok and
The hill live and 7km and
3km The in 3x5km of is
Alau Bobalo as and
new road (marked on Map3),
hill (2km
at is 3km. The Alau hill lies on the
is at most 2km wide. The number of households
in The 3x2km area is home
A example is
in Lombok bordered rivers,
125 An
is The population is
hill is officials if
hills, life
is trail. The time taken hills,
is in six in Lombok.
The middle hill is rice,
more cashew and kapok.
many live At the border
between hills and is
in this hill
grow
The middle hill is in
between people and
in been planted by many farmers. These trees represent not
cui its The

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood
swidden cycle, the intensification of land use, and the implications of the adoption of tree crops
for resource use, allocation and the security of livelihoods are the issues explored below.

THE SWIDDEN CYCLE THE MIDDLE
There are many factors making
These include the conditions of vegetation and soil,
hills be left
It
The cropping is one which moves from more soil-
demanding For the first two hill rice,
As in soil, its it becomes well
The upper is
and dampness rot. Corn meanwhile be grown on
meet Two grown
one Ground and
this, in
be achieved. By fifth soil is and
It left
on Some here. If
ground nuts and Other rice, if
is many households do
If no
this is
good barometer of the household’s current liquidity. Some households
Tinombo area
last two new and buy
between corn harvests. Many
Fencing is a significant element in the swidden strategy. Fencing is not usually considered
essential for rice, since the pests affecting this crop are birds, which can only

be bay can grown without
Corn and cassava are the crops most vulnerable pig. If
live
vigil is most first week
is and the last month before If is built, still
be field may be abandoned last
from and other vegetables do not warrant the investment of
in and chili sown by women
field may some field is no
and are harvested sale.

Vie Middle Hills
If is needed may

go first, rice, is
months while rice sL\ The rice, if
is fertile, is its storability, bumper fill
Corn up months on it
becomes so hard it is difficult it
is and seldom As result, much
tends With its met good
and
mix The number
worked women, men and
worked one The
its how many field in
Each plot, if area
may in five Farmers may
two or more at
is
Farmers whose and they
may the less if new corn field
Tobacco is grown in this who live
The annual production months of fairly and no
grown in fields. Tobacco grow some
seldom obtain abundant in
tobacco. upon saving enough cash from
them months
Women in all if
men work Some widows
The Tinombo is been famous its
(Nourse
INTENSinCATlON OF LAND USE
in hill
more common. light brush.
There number this.
is The and
in hill is unknown. An will be made
this at
There are no obvious reasons why a drop
been achieved
and general health
in hills, and full
facilities

Culture, Ecology and Livelihood

is hills,
its between and
many moved from hills and
sites where new roads had made
and
temporary and permanent outmigration.

is critical
it if and regenerative potential of the
damaged Household interview data made some households
many more and
is
make use
first women and men
farm land from
come from
more draw upon the resources of both
Land and
factor more
The its Where new is
and no
and if
enough meet minimum While
and be
soil
soil hills Tinombo
Some hills which
were said be heavily forested early in still
later, is and Other and
hills Lombok and Dusunan, now
although fifty
These hill been
may
More
hills been "used and and
to become more meagre over That fairly
hills
low fertility
and
Gradual and soil
if made The
the is
some farmers make good use and soils,
and enough income
between and make up For
them
ways which Examples observed

The Middle Hills
in one