On the Ground in Ujung Kulon: Wood carving activities
In a remote village of the National Park's buffer zone...
The rhino carving production chain...
The road to Cibadak twists and turns, follows sharp slopes, optimistically intersects a few rivers and in places, almost disappears. Tackling it with a motorbike is a challenge best left to a weathered rider. Yet at this time of year - dry season - the road is actually considered to be in good condition.
Skirting around the eastern border of Ujung Kulon National Park, the road connects the small communities whose lives are intertwined with the Park [see map].
Life in Cibadak, a small kampung (village) along that road, seems deceptively idyllic. A palm-fringed river cuts through the group of houses, while lush rice paddies fringe the community. Families work quietly on their verandas. Yet unemployment runs high. And because of the condition of the road, contacts with the outside world are not as easy as they ought to be.
Alternative incomes, better lives?
In 1997, WWF stepped in to help local people benefit from the presence of the neighbouring Park. The aim was to provide local people with alternatives to encroaching on the park for wood and agricultural land, and therefore establish an effective buffer zone around the Park
How it all began...
Following a series of workshops and public awareness programs concerning biodiversity conservation, the local villagers of Taman Jaya and Cibadak began producing rhino carvings. These are made from discarded wood collected from state-owned forest plantations. WWF-Indonesia has provided support for this project in cooperation with WWF-Sweden and SIDA.
Rhino carving as a parallel activity
The Ujung Kulon project financed the training of 2 individuals from Cibadak in wood-carving, and 12 people were soon involved in a small industry of producing rhino-shaped handicraft. Today, 9 people in the village continue the rhino production, while continuing to engage in other activities such as tending their rice paddies, and growing bananas and coffee.
While the wood-carvings bring in badly needed income, people in Cibadak realize they still have a long way to go before their small industry becomes economically viable. There is a need for training in marketing and further seed money to expand the scale and diversity of their operations. This would allow them to increase production, sell to a wider market, and perhaps even open a shop.
