Gender, Value Added Chains and Certification

in Furniture Industry

IUFRO WORLD CONGRESS 6-11 October 2014, Salt Lake City USA

Herry Purnomo, Endang Suhendang, and Bayuni Shantiko

I. INTRODUCTION

• Green Economy: advocated after Rio+20 summit in June 2012.

• ‘The Future We Want’ (UN 2012) to further mainstream sustainable development

• Poverty eradication

• Promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production

• Protecting and managing natural resource development

UNEP 2011

Furniture in Indonesia

Annual export $1.4 billion

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 95% of production.

Livelihoods of ≈ 5 million people in Java, depend on furniture industry and its chains

Furniture industry in Jepara

11,981 businesses

0.9 million m3 wood processed yearly

26 % of Jepara’s economy.

Annual export $110 million

Women are paid less than men

In many consumer’ countries, including Japan, European countries and Indonesia, women make decisions about selecting which furniture to buy.

Furniture business unit types in Jepara

Type of business Number

Independent enterprisesLog pond 726Sawmill 101Dry kiln 20Workshop 8080Ironmongery 168Warehouse 528Showroom 1974Subtotal 11,597

Integrated enterprisesLog pond and sawmill 137Workshop and showroom 78Workshop and dry kiln 71Workshop and log pond 37Workshop and warehouse 15Other integrated business unit 46Subtotal 2 384

Total 11 ,981

Wood traders

Furniture producers

Furniture retailers

Road network

The Stakeholders

Correspondence Analysis of Stakeholders and their role (78%)

Research Question

What are the effects of different scenarios including green certification for upgrading small-scale furniture producers to women?

Gender is a social construct of the differences between women and men, not a matter of sex (Kabeer 1999).

II. METHODS

Participatory Action Research (PAR)

On the Reflection phase we implemented Value Chain Analysis (VCA)

Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

Reflec-tion

Plan-

ning

Action

Moni-

toring

a) Market-based, indicated by many customers and many suppliers

b) Balanced network, indicated by supplier having various customers; commitment to solve problems through negotiation;

c) Directed network, indicated by main customer takes at least 50% of output; customer defines the product and provides technical assistance; and imbalance of information

d) Hierarchy, indicated by vertical integration;

III. RESULT

Jepara Furniture Value Chain

Role of women in value chains

Both men and women are involved in all nodes.

However, women are more concentrated in warehouses than anywhere else along the value chain.

Men make more decisions and work in better paying jobs. Women are perceived to lack furniture-making skills

Type

Most frequent score

Very

weak

Weak Medium Strong Very

strong

Most

frequent

score

Market based 0 1 0 9 0 strong

Balanced network 0 0 5 5 0 medium

to strong

Directed network 0 0 3 6 1 strong

Hierarchical 0 0 5 2 3 medium

Strength of women’s roles in value chain types

Scenarios based planning to upgrade small-scale furniture producers

1. Moving Up

• Small-scale producers move up to the higher stages in the value chain

2. Green product

Buyer Perspective for certified furniture

Urban buyers (Wulandari et al. 2011)

Conventional 41%

Green23%

Greener20%

Greenest16%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 5 10 15 20 25

Willingness to pay more (% )

Consumers (%)

Putro, 2010

3. Small-Scale Association (collective action)

• Organize themselves locally

4. Collaborating Down

• Small-scale producers collaborate with wood traders and tree growers

Examples of Actions -- PAR

Scenario Action

SME association

Establishment of Jepara Small-

scale Producers Association

(APKJ)

Management training

Moving up Participation in trade exhibitions in

Jakarta and Jepara

Internet marketing portal:

javamebel.com

Workshops e.g. CHAFTA (China-

ASEAN free trade area), structure

of furniture industry

Training - marketing, quality

control and finance

Collaborating down

Negotiation with farmers to plant

trees

Participation in tree planting

Green products

Chain of custody training (CoC)

MAIN IMPACTS Improved incomes

(statistically significant)

They produced certified furniture

Better furniture governance: the association involved in decision making process and its implementation

The existing impacts of (non gender sensitive) actions in each

scenario on women

Scenario Favourable impact

Very

low

Low Medium Strong Very

strong

Score

Mode

Moving up 0 1 2 6 1 strong

SME

association

0 1 7 2 0 medium

Collaborating

down

0 1 7 2 0 medium

Green product 0 1 6 3 0 medium

Potential impacts of actions in each scenario on women’s roles

Scenario Potential impact

Very

low

Low Medium Strong Very

strong

Score

Mode

Moving up 0 0 2 6 2 Strong

SME

association

0 0 3 7 0 Strong

Collaborating

down

1 0 1 8 0 Strong

Green product 1 0 3 4 1 Strong

HOW TO: Actions need to be designed specifically for women

IV. DISCUSSION

Women preferred a market-based value chain because in it they earn more money.

Green certification results medium impacts, but projected stronger impact in the future

Men dominate the furniture industry and people perceived this dominance as natural.

There is a 'social acceptance' of women as flexible workers because of their ties to the household, carrying the burden of multiple roles e.g. caring or children and preparing family meals.

Jepara reflects the socially derived gender division of labour and is situated at the intersection between productive (paid) and reproductive (unpaid) work (Elson 1999).

V. CONCLUSION

Women actively involved in value added creation in furniture industry

There was no verification of women workers’ preference to be secured in value chain governance, in fact, they prefer a market-based relationship

Green certification is also a way to improve value added obtained by women.

Publications

Fauzan AU, Purnomo H. 2012. Uncovering the complexity: An essay on the benefits of the value chain approach to global crisis studies – a case study from Jepara, Indonesia. In: Suter, C. and Herkenrath, M. (eds). World Society in the Global Economic Crisis, 149–169. Lit Verlag, Munster, Germany.

Purnomo H, Achdiawan R, Melati, Irawati RH, Sulthon, Shantiko B. Value-chain dynamics: strengthening the institution of small-scale furniture producers to improve their value addition. Will be published in October 2013, at Forests, Trees and Livelihoods Journal.

Thank You