Swallow's nest trade brisk during crisis

Swallow's nest trade brisk during crisis

By M.M.I. Ahyani

LABUAN, West Java (JP): It is sometimes difficult to
understand man's attitude toward and taste for food and medicine.
Take a swallow's nest, for example. This edible nest, which is
made from the saliva of swallows, is widely famed as a medicine
of great efficacy. As for the taste of the nest, that, of course,
depends on who you are asking.

Indonesia, which is geographically endowed with a lot of
coastline and rocky mountainous areas, is an ideal location for
swallows to breed.

It is understandable then, that the country supplies 80
percent of the world's demand for swallow nests. Those
Indonesians involved in the swallow nest business can at present
supply an average of 40 tons of swallow nests a year, while in
1998 this figure was only 30 tons a year.

How much money is generated from the swallow nest business?
Swallow nests with a saliva content of 99 percent can fetch Rp 13
million/kilogram, while the nest of a sriti, a bird similar to
the swallow, can go for Rp 1.5 million/kg.

It turns out, however, that swallows do not favor only
coastal ecosystems. In a number of areas relatively far from the
coast, such as Magelang and Klaten, swallows can also be found.
Obviously, locations which are home to swallows and their nests
can commercially benefit from these birds.

Sobong village, Panimbang subdistrict, Pandeglang, is a case
in point. Originally a poor village, Sobong has seen a spurt of
development thanks to the presence of swallows.

In this village, houses which are favored by swallows are sold
for billions of rupiah. Certainly they are not luxury houses with
all the modern conveniences. Frequently they are simple brick
houses which look gloomy, stuffy and eerie, and which swallows
like to nest in.

Although Sobong is quite remote and its four-km road is in
disrepair, it is not completely isolated. And while the village
can be difficult to reach, land is still quite expensive here. A
square meter of land will cost you Rp 250,000. In a neighboring
village, the going price of land is Rp 5,000 per square meter.

According to Ali Balfas, one of the village's most successful
swallow nest businessmen, the price of land and houses in Sobong
is higher than in other villages because the quality of swallow
nests in this village is higher than in other areas.

As Sobong is well-known as a nesting place for swallows, many
newcomers, particularly from Cirebon and Gresik, have come to the
village to get into the swallow nest business.

These newcomers usually invest hundreds of millions of rupiah
to buy a plot of land and build a house on it. They do not even
hesitate to lay down a large sum of money for a house which comes
with its own swallow nests. "Therefore, it is not surprising to
see Sobong swallow nest owners can still smile even now," said
Dwiatmo Siswowartono, former director of the Flora and Fauna
Reserve Development at the Directorate General of Forest
Protection and Nature Conservation. Dwiatmo has conducted
numerous research projects on swallows in Indonesia and recently
he took part in a discussion on the birds with members of the
Wildlife Conservation Forum here.

There are currently some 200 swallow nest businesspeople in
Sobong, each of whom usually handles hundreds of swallow nests.

According to Ali, in those houses swallows have chosen to nest
in, their nests can be collected once every two to three months.
"It usually takes 120 to 150 swallows to produce one kilogram of
swallow nests. If swallows find a house they like, it could end
up housing thousands of swallows. You could harvest over 10
kilograms of swallow nests with one collection," he said.

The first and foremost problem confronting someone who wishes
to break into the business is how to entice these valuable birds
to their house.

From the results of research and surveys, said Dwiatmo, there
are four conditions which may lure swallows. These four are known
as KaCa SuSu (which literally means milk glass in English). It
translates to humidity, lighting, temperature and noise.

"Swallow nest owners must really understand these four
characteristics so that they can arrange the right humidity,
lighting, temperature and noise in their house. Otherwise, the
house may be just haunted," he said.

Thanks to numerous research on this subject, swallow nest
owners and locals have begun to understand the benefit of
conservation and sustainability. To ensure that the swallow nest
business will continue, for example, there is a season in which
the swallow nest owners intentionally refrain from collecting the
nests because they want all the eggs to hatch. "Otherwise, there
is fear that the number of swallow nests will decline," Dwiatmo
said.

This method differs from the collecting of swallow nests in
caves managed by regional governments. Because it is necessary to
reach a revenue target, a businessman who usually works on a
contract basis, will harvest all available nests. As a result,
the population of swallows will dwindle, resulting in a drop in
the production of swallow nests.

Ali Balfas said the population of swallows in his village was
stable because from the very beginning locals relied on their own
experience and experimentation.

Ali also said there was little difficulty in marketing the
nests. Even before the nests have been collected, potential
buyers have already begun making bids. There are presently 16
swallow nest exporters in Indonesia.

Most of the swallow nests are exported to China because
domestically few people can afford this luxury item. So those in
the business are able to rake in U.S. dollars.

"That's why none of those in the swallow nest business have
been hit by the monetary crisis. They actually make large profits
during the monetary crisis," Ali said.