list of figures - Terry Sunderland

press; this study) and the conditions and circumstances under which rattan is harvested
and transported are similar throughout its range.
The harvesting of rattan is currently undertaken solely from wild populations. It is an
unpleasant and often dangerous occupation with dead branches being dislodged as
well as ants (see Chapter 4) and wasps being disturbed. Raw cane is cut, and bundled,
and then head-portered out of the forest to the roadside.
The majority of the harvesting that is undertaken for commercial trading is undertaken
by individuals, usually farmers or hunters or other rural people primarily involved in
other occupations. Rattan harvesting provides many these individuals with extra
revenue, particularly in times of need such as for medical expenses or the payment of
annual school fees (Trefon and Defo, 1998; Sunderland, 1998). Many cash-crop
farmers also harvest rattan to obtain extra capital to purchase chemicals, planting
stock and other necessary items for their primary occupation (ibid.). However, despite
the capital returns, given the unpleasant and difficult nature of rattan harvesting, most
would concentrate on their primary occupations given the opportunity.
In general, rattan harvesters tend to work in the same forest area, and return each time
they need to cut cane. If the harvester is not an indigene of the area, the chief of the
local village is paid a small retainer for providing access to the forest. The harvesters
usually prefer to collect as close to a motorable road as possible to avoid headportering
the bundled canes too far. However, local scarcity near many urban centres
now forces many harvesters further into the forest (Sunderland, 1998; Defo, 1999;
Profizi, 1999). The added porterage resulting from this increased range is slowly
generating an increase in the raw cane prices, which is being felt at the market level
(see Chapter 7).
Village-based harvesters transport the harvested rattan to the urban markets
themselves, or they may sell at the village to a local trader who then transports the
cane for sale to urban artisans. Some urban-based artisans harvest rattan themselves,
although this is often only the case where there is close proximity to the wild resource.
Falconer (1994), and Oteng-Amoako and Obiri-Darko (in press) provide a good
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