Smoke and Mirrors: The Global Trade in Fern (Lygodium circinnatum) Fiber Basketry

This study aims to: (1) clarify confusion about Lygodium circinnatum fern fiber used in Bali, Indonesia, to weave basketry for international export, variously called “grass,” “rattan,” “reed,” “vine,” or “ata”; (2) explain how since the 1970s, entrepreneurial “champions” in Bali and Lombok have transformed a small, informal sector activity into the world’s largest fern fiber basketry trade; and (3) document all stages of the L. circinnatum supply chain from wild fern harvest to retail outlets in Asia, Europe, and North America. In the late 1980s, an earlier study estimated 70–270 million L. circinnatum stems per year were required for basketry production needs. Thirty years later, demand for L. circinnatum stems supplied a global market worth over US$26.3 million (in 2020) and over a billion stems per year. L. circinnatum resource management and cultivation are required to sustain the trade at this level. Better supply chain transparency (SCT) is also needed, particularly in the USA, the major importing country for this basketry (67% of exports in 2020). Implementation of the 2000 USA Indian Arts and Crafts Enforcement would improve SCT and simultaneously benefit basket producers in both the USA and Indonesia.