Friday, October 26, 2012

Weaving Materials

I'm exploring other materials to use in weaving, due to the rattan shortage.  Of course there is always cedar bark, sweet grass, bulrush, telephone wire, copper wire, ash, birch bark - I will just need to adjust my thinking as well as my designs.  Perhaps less weaving and more driftwood?

So just a few more comments on the rattan shortage, and it's relationship within the fuller economical context,  from http://blog.tigertrade.com/2012/04/19/update-on-raw-materials-export-ban-in-indonesia/:  (emphases mine)

Bans on raw exports can be difficult to fully enforce. Smuggling is likely to become more common especially in an archipelago where products are shipped from island to island, leaving many opportunities for materials to change course at sea. Indonesia will have to supplement these export bans with much stronger customs enforcement.
Policies are in the works to stop the export of raw mining commodities as well as crude palm oil. These new regulations will need to be supported by more infrastructural development in the country. Indonesia has given these policies until 2015 to go into full effect. In the preceding years there will likely be a large-scale effort to build out each industry so that the entire process from raw material to finished product can be managed domestically.
Indonesia’s handling of its rattan industry is a micro example of a macro trend. Indonesia and similar emerging economies are trying to keep their natural resources within their borders. Larger economies with more developed industries are importing raw materials from less developed countries and manufacturing finished products. In an effort to grow more comprehensive industries, emerging economies need to invest in creating complete, domestic supply chains.



No comments: