Sericulture, the production and processing of natural silk from silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves has its origin in China, but has spread to many other countries. Neither land nor labour in sericulture are in direct competition with the cultivation of staple crops. Sericulture is therefore seen as a potential source of additional income for small farmers in the tropics. The production technology, however, is sensitive and the demands on the organisational and institutional environment are considerable.§This study focuses on Indonesia , a developing country 1,919,440 sqkm, in area consisting of an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited) with a population estimated in 2003 to be 235 million.§Java, as the central island, has a population of 100 million on area of 132,186 sq km. This corresponds with a population density of approximately 1000 persons per sq km, among the highest of any region in the developing world. Eighty percent of the Javanese population live in the rural areas and more than ninety percent are engaged in agriculture. Sericulture, the production and processing of natural silk from silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves has its origin in China, but has spread to many other countries. Neither land nor labour in sericulture are in direct competition with the cultivation of staple crops. Sericulture is therefore seen as a potential source of additional income for small farmers in the tropics. The production technology, however, is sensitive and the demands on the organisational and institutional environment are considerable. This study focuses on Indonesia, a developing country 1,919,440 sqkm, in area consisting of an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited) with a population estimated in 2003 to be 235 million. Java, as the central island, has a population of 100 million on area of 132,186 sq km. This corresponds with a population density of approximately 1000 persons per sq km, among the highest of any region in the developing world. Eighty percent of the Javanese population live in the rural areas and more than ninety percent are engaged in agriculture.
