The farming of the Edible Nest Swiflet for their nests
The farming of the Edible Nest Swiflet for their nests is an important industry for a number of people all around Indonesia especially East Java. The nest from the Edible Nest Swiftlet is made purely from the saliva of the bird, and is eaten for its health benefits. The nest is produced to make a soup and the majority of the nests produced in Indonesia are exported to China with most going to Hong Kong.
The Edible Nest Swiftlet traditionally built its nests at the top of caves. As a result, it can be extremely difficult and dangerous to collect these nests. They also make their nests in the rafters of empty houses. Because of this, people buy houses that already have colonies of Swiftlets in them and turn these houses into commercial enterprises. Because this method is very effective, business people have built buildings especially designed to attract and farm these Swiftlet birds.
To be successful in farming the Edible Nest Swiflet, there are a number of factors involved. These are: location, climate, the environment, building design, availability of food and technique of attracting the correct birds. All these factors are equally important in order to be successful in this industry.
Farmers of the Edible Nest Swiflet can be categorised into three distinct classes. These are: upper, middle and lower class. The lower class owns small buildings and uses little technology. They always build their birds nest buildings in the area in which they live and are happy to produce the nests of the Seriti bird, which is easier to farm and is sold at a cheaper price than the Edible Nest Swiflet.
The middle class also build in the area in which they live and are also quite happy producing the nest from the Seriti bird, however, the middle class build much larger buildings than the working class and use more advanced technology and methods.
The upper class use slightly more advanced technology and knowledge than the middle class, however, the upper class live in large cities and build their birds nest houses in areas which are most suitable for the farming of these birds. The upper class farmers only aim to produce the nests of the Edible Nest Swiftlets and not the Seriti bird nest. As a result, this class uses a number of different methods and are willing to wait a number of years to become successful in this industry.
The local government in the district of Blitar in East Java has attempted to be active in this industry. For example, creating a book about farming methods as well as holding a seminar to discuss methods and thoughts on the industry. On the whole, however, the local government in Blitar plays a very minor role in this industry, collecting little tax from bird nest owners. When queried by the tax department, bird nest owners will frequently say they are yet to harvest the nests from their buildings in order to escape having to pay tax. Bird nest owners who are unsuccessful in producing nests, however, are very interested in the local government playing a larger role in this industry so that they can be
assisted in their enterprise.
Unfortunately, the majority of bird nest owners do not wish to cooperate with the local government in Blitar, making it very difficult for them to create data on the number of kilograms of nests produced within Blitar. If the local government created and enforced a law that allowed government workers to be given access to the birds nest buildings and inspect the number and quality of the nests this would ensure that the correct amount of tax is collected and that this money could be invested in ensuring that the industry survives. However, there are many obstacles to overcome such as corruption and lax government attitudes before the local government in Blitar can say they play a positive role in this industry.
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