Abstract
This is a research report of two sago-villages in Kabupaten Luwu, South Sulawesi. Desa Takkalala, a community which formerly produced sago for subsistence, has been undergoing a drastic change in the last 10 to 15 years due to the improvement of the highway system and the consequent inflow of a large number of Bugis migrants, who are industrious planters of cloves and other cash crops. The market price of sago has risen recently, because the newcomers welcomed this crop as a cheap substitute for rice. But some villagers had already converted their sago forest into banana and cocoa gardens. They are hoping to transform the village into a sort of truck-farming village where they can grow more valuable crops than sago. In contrast to Desa Takkalala, Desa Pengkajoang remains a genuine sago-village, where sago is the mainstay of life. Besides sago production, villagers rely heavily on raising buffalo and fish. They believe that this is the best combination for tropical lowland, and argue that sago cultivation can be a commercially sound business if a market is secured.
