'Hanging by Rubber': How Cash Threatens the Agricultural Systems of the Siang Dayak

An unprecedented increase in industrial activity, particularly coal mining, is transforming Murung Raya Regency in Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. New opportunities to participate in the market economy are enticing many people in the area to move away from subsistence horticulture and towards generating cash income through various means, particularly the trade in rubber. The move away from subsistence horticulture, which is performed collectively, towards rubber tapping, which is done individually, alters social exchange relationships. This article examines the way in which integration with the market economy leads to the increasing dominance of individual modes of being over collective, and the constraints on both. The way in which these shifts threaten food security is also considered. The situation of the Siang of Murung Raya is contrasted with the Kantu' of West Kalimantan.