Abstract
In some villages of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, the traditional shifting cultivation and sago exploitation have played important roles in the household economy. The farmers can harvest 1.5 t/ha of upland rice and 2.5 t/ha of maize (kernel). Since the most farming households use 1 ha for upland rice cultivation in the hilly area, its products is enough to support their life. In contrast, exploitation of sago, which grows exclusively in swamp area, requires more work input (15 work man-days per tree). A factory of sago starch extraction was established in Mowewe village, but the farmers have not been provided with enough sago for the forestry but only enough for their own consumption. The major reason for this comes from the climatic conditions which do not allow the farmers to produce sago throughout the year nor supply enough water for washing pith. The transportation of sago in a wet-powder state to the factory tends to spoil the starch; this means that sago starch can be utilized in the sago-producing villages or at the nearby local markets, for instance using trucks for transportation, as in the Kendari markets.
