Abstract
This article analyzes the effect of a conservation enclosure on a longstanding multi-functional harvest system found throughout rural upland villages in the Maros District of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. We examine how and why a type of redistributive harvest system, known as makkalice––the final stage of the candlenut harvest during which women and children collect the leftover produce––is in demise. Drawing on a mixed-method qualitative approach, we find that the conservation enclosure associated with the establishment of the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park in 1994 prevented candlenut tree renewal, significantly reducing nut production, and limiting options for Bugis farmers and workers to participate in the redistributive harvest system. Formation of the national park limited villagers’ access to their longstanding candlenut groves, compelling farmers to adopt less secure commodity cropping options. We show how coercive conservation restrictions have created a land squeeze for rural cultivators, pushing them to intensify remaining land for more sedentary, seasonal, and market-oriented crops. Restricted access to candlenut groves, and its impact on makkalice, removed access to a ‘productive commons’ used by landless and land-poor households for generations, particularly affecting women and children. The demise of makkalice has curtailed what was once a celebrated socio-cultural practice and obstructed access to an important supplementary form of income for many households.
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The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Notes
In the local Bugis language, makkalice means ‘picking leftovers one-by-one.’
In 2019, the total area of candlenut forests was 2.215 ha in Kecamatan Camba, 2.070 ha in Kecamatan Cenrana, and 5.056 ha in Kecamatan Mallawa (Dinas Kehutanan dan Perkebunan Maros, 2009).
After democratic decentralization policies in post-Suharto Indonesia, new forms of land conversion began to take place due to the influence of local governments in forest management (Resosudarmo, 2004). Local governments began to enact new approaches to challenging land authority within conservation areas, such as through road building by local governments through their mandate for development (Bettinger, 2014). Recentralization policies have led to central government reclaiming authority over conservation areas (Sahide et al., 2016), which has been successfully challenged only by greenwashing initiatives from large scale investors such as the geothermal lobby (Sahide et al., 2018).
Interview with an elderly man in his 70s, Barugae, June 2021.
Interview with a woman in her 60s and her family members, Barugae, June 2021.
The unhusked and undried rice is normally sold to the middlemen for Rp 4.200-Rp 4.500/kg in 2020, and Rp 3.800 per kg in 2021.
The ginger powder is also mixed with brown sugar powder. One kilogram ginger powder mixed with three blocks of brown sugar.
Peraturan Dirjen KSDAE No: P.6/KSDAE/SET/Kum.1/6/2018.
The local company bought the pine sap from the group members for Rp. 8,000/ kg, while in other places the price is around Rp. 10,000 to 15,000.
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Parts of this research were made possible by the PAIR Project research - Australia Indonesia Centre, AICPAIRSIP3. Thanks to the Forestry Department of Universitas Hasanuddin, also Forest and Society Research Group (FSRG) of Universitas Hasanuddin for the support.
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Mujetahid, A., Sirimorok, N., Faradiba Muin, A. et al. On the Demise of Makkalice: Conservation Enclosure and the loss of a wealth-redistributing Harvest System in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hum Ecol 51, 753–768 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00421-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00421-0