Indonesia Study Group: Abstracts

12:30-2:00pm
June 24 2009
Seminar Room B (Arndt Room)

The Jepara Furniture Industry: Many Centuries in the Making
Jennifer Alexander (Department of Anthropology, RSPAS, ANU)

In this paper I seek to link the past with the present, and the local with the global in order to investigate the development of an export oriented economy with a long tradition of producing wood handicrafts and furniture for local and international markets. The local actors, Javanese and Chinese Indonesians later joined by international representatives from Australasia, America, Asia and Europe, a not insignificant number of whom resided in the region in the 199o0s, have been transformed into a global community involved in the production and sale of wooden commodities. I outline the nature of the engagement between foreign entrepreneurs, mainly male, with local agents, both female and male (artisans, traders and established businessmen) to assess the applicability of the globalization model.