RATTAN HARVESTING

The harvesting of rattan plants known so far is only limited to cultivated long rattan such as Irit, Kubu, Pulut Merah, batang, and Manau rattan. Where generally rattan plants are first harvested after reaching the age of between 6 to 8 years for rattan plants with small diameters of rattan plant types (irit, pulut, kubu and sega). (commonly used for woven materials, baskets, chairs and others).

As for rattan with a large diameter, manau rattan and batang can only be harvested after reaching the age of between 12 to 15 years with the condition that these plants receive routine and intensive ongoing care, otherwise the harvest period will be even longer. Rattan with a large diameter is generally used for frames or structures for furniture and buildings.

The characteristics of rattan plant stems that are ready to be harvested, either those that grow naturally or those that are cultivated, are as follows:

1. Broken leaves and needles.
2. The source color has changed to black or yellow-black.
3. Most of the stems were exposed, not covered by leaf stalks anymore, and the peeled rattan stalks had turned green.

In reality, the process of harvesting rattan plants by farmers in forests or plantations requires a very long, hard, difficult struggle and special skills. Where the terrain and areas they pass can be in the form of swamps, valleys, rivers and wilderness before finally arriving at the village, not to mention the process of cutting, pulling and cleaning rattan plant stems which are plants with sharp thorns that grow vines on large trees. Generally, farmers work in groups consisting of 4 to 10 people who have their respective tasks. Except for the small types of rattan irit, kubu, pulut they can work independently not in groups. In a simple description of the process of harvesting rattan plants in rural are as follows:

Rattan plants to be harvested first remove the thorns along the midrib of the leaf attached to the stem, by striking the rattan stem with the side of the machete. Stem cutting occurs between 1 m from the base of the stem, to provide opportunities for the growth of new shoots or the growth of new rattan seedlings. Because if it is too short it can cause decay and disturb other plants in the clump.

The thorns and leaf sheaths that have come out of the rattan stems are then removed so as not to interfere with further work. Rattan stems at shoots that are still attached to the host tree can be removed by cutting the ends using a pole that has been given a small knife at the end or can also be climbed directly by the host tree and cut.

Furthermore, rattan sticks that have been cut and pulled at the base/shaken, and as long as the desired or required size are then cut, and the remaining pieces may still be pulled again and cut, and so on.

At the same time as pulling and shaking the stems of rattan plants, the thorns and leaves are removed. The rattan stalks that have been cut are then collected, folded in half and then tied and then transported to the collection point.

Furthermore, the harvested rattan stalks are washed away through the river, or transported using available transportation equipment to be brought to the village to be sold to collectors or further processed as semi-finished raw materials.