Society and Natural Resources: Surfing on Waves of Opportunities: Resource Use Dynamics in a Dayak Benuaq community in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Gonner, Christian

This long-term study analyzes the dynamic patterns of resource use and income generation among Dayak Benuaq forest users in Indonesian Borneo. While swidden agriculture provides food for Benuaq families at a subsistence level and safeguards their survival--especially during times of uncertainty--financial income is generated from various forest products and off-farm activities. The Benuaq "surf" on "waves of opportunities" by frequently switching from one income source to another; their decisions are influenced by resource availability, market prices, seasonality, and individual cash demand. This flexible approach, combined with swidden agriculture as a safety net, has proven to be a resilient and efficient strategy to cope with external shocks and to sustain local livelihoods [author].

2011 24(2), February 2011:165-73.