RUBBER AND THE MODERNISATION OF THE PAKU IBAN IN ...

eturned to Sarawak, they brought some rubber seeds with them. But most of
the rubber seeds they brought home were bought in Kuching. The rubber seeds
were sold for $2 for a box of 200. Later, many Paku Iban made trips to
Kuching to buy rubber seeds.
For those who could not afford the trip to Kuching, they obtained their rubber
seeds from relatives and friends who already had mature rubber trees. Some
Paku Iban also obtained the rubber seeds by collecting them from the rubber
gardens of those who already had mature rubber trees, in exchange for labour
such as helping the owner to tap or helping them out in their padi farms. Some
Paku Iban also obtained their rubber seeds by unscrupulous means like
stealing them from the rubber estates where they worked. They had asked for
jobs in the estates for the sole purpose of trying to obtain rubber seeds.
6. Results
6.1. General Demographics of the Study Population
Of the eighty-four respondents, 48 are males and 36 are females. Forty-two or
50% of them belong to the 71 years old and above age group, 11 (13%) belong
to the 66-70 age group, 12 (14%) to the 61-65 age group, 9 (11%) to the 56-60
age group, and 10 (12%) to the 51-55 years age group. In terms of occupation,
36 or 43% of them put „pepper gardener‟ as their main occupation, 8 (10%)
put „pensioner‟, 5 (6%) put „rubber tapper‟, 5 (6%) put „as SALCRA estate
worker‟, 1 (1%) put „self-employed‟, while the other 29 (35%) put „others‟ as
their main occupation.
6.2. Indicators of Success
As indicators of success in the entrepreneurial development of the community,
several aspects of physical wealth were studied. Among the key indicators
used in this study were the community‟s ability to own shop houses, generate
their own electricity using generators, operate rice mills, purchase and own
essential hardware. Other than ownership of these physical goods, the study
also looked at their adoption of western and modern dressings and lifestyle.
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