Furniture making is central to the culture and economy of Jepara, a district in Central Java, Indonesia. Yet it can be hard for small-scale furniture producers to make a living: high-quality teak and mahogany are in short supply; producers have weak bargaining power and little business knowledge; and cash just doesn’t seem to flow. This mix of problems may take these furniture artisans deeper into poverty.

CIFOR and its partners set out to tackle these problems through the Furniture Value Chain Project, supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. To be sure they made a difference, the project team joined forces with the Jepara Furniture Multi-stakeholder Forum, Jepara local government agencies, the Forestry Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Forestry, and Bogor Agricultural University.

By the time the project wrapped up in June 2013, its impacts were already being felt.

Furniture Value Chain Project

Duration

2008–2013

Funding partner

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

Value chain research across Southeast Asia

With such positive outcomes for Jepara, CIFOR is ready to scale up the action research — to other parts of Indonesia, to other value chains and to other ASEAN countries, with scoping visits planned for 2014.

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Main outcomes

Economic outcomes

APKJ members with improved production, marketing skills, sales and profits

APKJ core members who obtained loans to expand their businesses

Environmental outcomes

10

APKJ members (one group, one individual) attained national government certification for timber legality, improving access to European markets

10–15%

Efficiency of timber use

1000

Fast-growing teak trees planted and growing well in 9 locations belonging to small-scale furniture makers

Capacity building

• APKJ members trained in financial management and marketing
• Women in the industry received training, including improved occupational health and safety
• Indonesian students trained in research methods
• Research projects conducted by:3 PhDs, 9 MScs & 4 undergraduate students