Guide to Cultivating and Processing Rattan products

While a lot of people are familiar with Rattan furniture and products, not everyone knows how it is processed. From being in it's raw material stage to furniture pieces at our homes, the steps taken to cultivate and process Rattan are truly unique. 

Ideally, Rattan should be processed as soon as it has been harvested. The steps include a number of treatments which are applied to the raw material to process it into a finished product. The purpose of this is to improve the quality of the final product and also help in the preservation of raw rattan and its by-products. 

The collector would need a sharp tool for cutting the rattan and removing the sheath. The work is labor intensive and is carried out by team of locals who take turns to harvest their gardens with other farmers helping out. The knowledge required for collecting and cultivating rattan has traditionally been passed from generation to generation. It requires a great skill to first cut the rattan and then with a secondary blow, split out the outer layer and peel out the core rattan.

Before the Rattan is processed, the collectors clean it. Wrapping the rattan around the tree trunk and rubbing it back and forth, this is done to remove outer coating of the stems. Some collectors also wash the cane with sand at the river edges.

Once the raw materials are received from traders, the cleaned rattan is then air dried on the racks in the sun for 7 to 14 days. This depends on few factors such as the size, degree of dryness upon arrival and weather conditions as well.

The next step is to cure the rattan and turn its colour from pale green into yellow that most people are familiar with. The smaller rattan is smoked in sulfur burning cabinets for 12 to 24 hours.

Larger canes are boiled in the mixer of diesel oil and other ingredients for 20 to 60 minutes. Once the boiling process is complete, they are stacked at a slant position or rubbed with sawdust to remove excess oil, and after they are dried for 5 to 14 days in an upright position. Sometimes they are also bleached with sulfur as the small rattan pieces are.

Both the processes are meant to preserve rattan and bring out its best of color and protect it against pests. The diesel treatment is especially applied to eliminate waxy components.

After drying the Rattan is ready to use. It is further processed into peel for weaving or core products that are flexible and used for binding crafts and materials. Most of the Rattan is traded to the furniture business, but locals use some for making crafts as well.