Hello!
Today we will talk about a natural weaving material from Southeast Asia called rattan.
Natural rattan is obtained from the vines of the Calamus palm, or, as it is also called,
"rattan palm".
True, not all types of this palm tree are suitable for weaving.
As a rule, those varieties that are used in weaving grow in the Asian tropics - both in
the wild and on specially organized plantations.
In Indonesia, early in the morning, workers start harvesting rattan in the rainforests
of Borneo.
Depending on the length and thickness, just one rod of exported rattan can cost $35.
This is more than three times the price of a similar bamboo pole.
And when it's woven into furniture, a rattan chair can cost upwards of $2,000.
But in order to get rattan, workers often have to assemble it under difficult and dangerous
conditions.
So why is rattan so hard to assemble?
And what makes it so expensive?
Rattan is a climbing palm vine that grows on trees in tropical rainforests.
This woody vine has flexible stems.
They look like bamboo, but they are hard and the bamboo is hollow in the middle.
Indonesia is considered the birthplace of rattan.
Later, the plant began to be grown in China.
There it was used to make furniture, baskets and other accessories.
The plant also became known in Japan.
In Indonesia, rattan is harvested in the jungles of Borneo, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
The rattan trade was concentrated mainly on the island of Java.
Over time, Cirebon, a port city located about 250 km east of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia,
established itself as a center for the rattan trade, and later as a center for the rattan
processing industry.
No wonder Indonesia accounts for 80% of rattan supplies to the world market.
Rattan is often incorrectly referred to as weaving and is one of the biggest misconceptions
about rattan and weaving.
It consists in the fact that both of them are considered materials.
This is only half true: in fact, rattan is a material that is obtained from certain types
of palm trees.
On the other hand, weaving is a type of furniture.
While wicker products can be made from rattan, they can also be woven from a range of other
natural and synthetic materials, including bamboo, cane, and synthetic resin.
Rattan, however, is more desirable because it is easier to bend and manipulate, making
it more versatile than other materials.
But collecting rattan is a tedious and risky task.
As dawn breaks, the workers set out on a boat for the Borneo rainforest, packing up their
essentials.
After an hour of sailing, the boat arrives at its destination, a patch of rainforest
that has been known for decades.
The first task is to figure out which rattan vines are already ripe for harvest.
Rattan creepers are unusually long!
If their standard length fluctuates around 80 meters, then individual vines can reach
a length of 300 meters.
At the same time, throughout their entire length they will be of the same thickness,
up to 7 cm in diameter, and at the same time unusually smooth without any knots.
Ripe rattan with green bark.
Unripe rattan is left until the next harvest.
Rattan that is ripe for harvest is usually at least seven or eight years old.
If a worker harvests too early, before the rattan has turned green and the outer bark
has come off, he will cut his profits.
Because young rattan cannot be sold.
When workers find a suitable vine, they use machetes to cut it off the bushes.
But wild rattan has thorns, like rose stems.
Therefore, the workers have to carefully work their way through the thorns so as not to
hurt themselves and save the rattan, which could be sold.
But spikes are not the only dangerous part of the job.
Wild animals are also a danger, as is boating, even during the rainy season.
In addition, there are a lot of mosquitoes in the rattan collection area.
You can also meet snakes, monitor lizards and predatory animals - civets.
All of them can attack people.
Once the workers have collected as much rattan as they can carry, they must return home to
prepare the rattan for sale.
In a day they can collect 70 kilograms of rattan.
Of course, not everyone can say that they are completely satisfied with such a harvest,
but they have to harvest only based on their capabilities.
After returning home, workers soak the rattan for at least three days to make it easier
to remove the bark for further processing.
Calamus liana is the basis of all rattan products.
But before reaching its full value, the vine must pass through many hands.
Pickers sell raw rattan to growers who will process it for resale.
Manufacturers buy raw rattan from assemblers at an affordable price and invest in preparing
the rattan for weaving.
This includes the wages of workers and the cost of electricity for machines.
Until recently, manufacturers bought 50 kilograms of rattan from assemblers for about $70.
These 50 kg will be enough for them for about two to three months of work.
Costs for large growers can be even higher because their processing plants are often
located much farther from where the rattan is harvested.
More transport is required to transport raw materials, which increases costs, especially
during the rainy season.
In the event of a flood, it may take the grower significantly longer to reach the harvest
site.
In such difficult operating conditions, it can be assumed that buyers will have to pay
more money to intermediaries.
The most important thing here is to keep the rattan dry.
It is not possible to harvest rattan when it is raining heavily, and in the collection
area, rain can cause flooding.
Once growers have harvested the raw rattan, they can start processing it.
To do this, the thinnest rattan is processed by placing it in a tarpaulin and smoking with
sulfur, while the thicker rattan is boiled in oil.
This process may take one or two days.
It is then dried in the sun to remove all moisture.
This takes another two or three days.
Depending on processing costs, rattan alone can cost half of what a manufacturer sells
in a month.
Most often, small producers sell small handmade rattan products such as plates and baskets.
In local markets, they sell for a little over $10 per unit.
But a similar basket sold internationally by a larger retailer could already cost upwards
of $100 per item.
And, most likely, such products will be sold, because the demand for rattan products is
very high.
Rattan manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry and the rattan furniture market is
expected to grow by 5% by 2027.
But the popularity of rattan did not arise today.
Rattan wickerwork became popular in Europe and America during the Victorian era, during
the reign of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
Victorian weaving, which was dominated by lush curls and ornate leaf patterns, did not
differ in the rigor and practicality of the first examples of rattan furniture.
Products made using this method were very popular in England in the 19th century.
In the living rooms of noble people, elegant beds, patterned wicker bookcases, dining sets
and armchairs were often found.
In the period from 1930 to 1940, various couches, tables for kitchens and halls, cabinets and
shelves on the wall were created from rattan.
Residents of Holland and England were the first to start trading in rattan furniture.
The material came to Europe in the form of ready-made furniture, which was made by Malaysian,
Indonesian and Singaporean craftsmen.
Despite the fact that rattan was victoriously moving through the European furniture market,
the countries did not produce large volumes of furniture products on their own.
Natural rattan furniture is still in demand in European countries.
The demand for such items is consistently high.
The fashion for rattan returned in the late 2010s, when the boho style began to prevail
in the interior.
Boho style is a style in which everyone is an artist for themselves.
Rattan furniture and other items made of this material fit perfectly
into the interior of the Boho style.
But while the demand for rattan furniture is growing, raw rattan assemblers are making
less profit than before.
Collectors say that in the past, their parents were able
to meet all their needs only by selling rattan, but now the income is only enough to buy daily
food.
In the past, rattan farmers could send their children to school or even build a house with
the proceeds from the sale of the rattan.
Today, a picker can sell 70 kg of harvested raw rattan for $10.
It's 7 cents per kilo.
And in the 1980s, raw rattan pickers received 10 times more for this amount.
Farmers attribute the loss to a law passed by the Indonesian government in 2011 that
bans the export of raw or semi-finished rattan to foreign countries.
In the run-up to the law's passage, Indonesia has faced a deforestation problem, including
over-harvesting of rattan, leading to supply shortages.
The law aims to prevent the export of raw rattan and should benefit domestic producers.
The law also helped limit the amount of rattan collected.
But it was mostly large rattan producers who benefited from this law.
But ordinary rattan collectors began to make ends meet with difficulty.
That's why rattan pickers want the government to change trade laws and make life easier
for them.
That's all.
If you liked this video please like and subscribe to the channel.
See you again.