Cane (Rattan) entreprises as family business in Bangladesh : a case study

Cane (Calamus spp), also known as rattan, is an important non-timber forest product used extensively all over Bangladesh as a raw material for making furniture, handi-craft and other household articles. The study has attempted to generate information on existing state of cane based family business, identify problems, and recommend solu-tions. Structured questionnaire has been employed in the field survey. During survey it was found that about 80% enterprises are traditionally inherited to the entrepreneurs from forefathers. Family members contribute about 30% of the total labor force. Thousands of people are engaged in collecting, processing, manufacturing of cane and cane products in the study area. Running cane enterprises has become an important income generating business for poor people. SWOT analysis of cane based cottage enterprises as a whole indicates that the best level of strength is low labor cost while the availability of substitutes is the top-level threat to cane products. Recommenda-tions to improve this sector include government supports in quality raw material pro-curement, financing and creating awareness among people to use extensively these environment friendly products.