Caves of Fortune? Gendered Labour Precarity and Securitisation Involving the ‘Wild’ Edible Birds’ Nest Trade in Kapuas Hulu, Indonesia

Abstract

Harvesting edible birds’ nests (EBN) produced by swiftlets from caves and purpose-built dwellings has generated a new high-value, non-timber forest product-based livelihood for rural smallholders across Indonesia. Drawing on extended fieldwork, we explore the gendered labour and livelihood outcomes for households transitioning from EBN cave harvesting to domestication in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Following calls from feminist political ecology, we investigate the more visible ‘men’s work’ associated with EBN access and labour and highlight women’s pivotal, yet often overlooked, role in managing the associated household incomes and land-based livelihoods. We show how the increasing demand f..