A strategy that has the potential to contribute to the achievement of the targets established under SDG 8 (“Decent Work and Economic Growth”) involves the development of sustainable tourism to create productive job and livelihood opportunities and to promote local culture and products. In the province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia, ikat weaving is an integral part of the cultural heritage of the region, with ikat characterized by unique design motives and the use of natural dyes. Unfortunately, in some areas, the use of natural dyes is diminishing as a result of competition with synthetic dyes and the limited availability of raw materials, particularly for the production of blue dye. The development of Indigofera spp. to produce natural, plant-based blue dye has significant potential to contribute to community incomes and employment. This study outlines a strategy for developing the use of Indigofera spp. as a natural dye and describes its potential for contributing to community incomes, especially on Timor Island, NTT. The study shows that weavers currently use indigo plants that grow naturally in gardens and yards. Although the community has a tradition of using these plants, informed by local wisdom, to develop the cultivation and processing of this plant through the application of the appropriate techniques, including innovative approaches to producing indigo paste, could enable the development of Indigofera spp. cultivation on a larger scale. The study shows that the availability of suitable land is high (±370 thousand ha), with 80% of the suitable land being categorized as critical. The study proposes a development based on the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to assess the manner in which these opportunities could be leveraged with the support and participation of local communities and other stakeholders by leveraging the culture and wisdom of the community regarding the use of Indigofera spp.

The domestic silkworm or mulberry silk moth, B. mori L., provides more than 99% of the world’s silk. Silk, as a sericulture product, was first introduced in Indonesia through a trade mechanism and began to develop in 1953. Several factors (economic, ecological, market, and cultural) support sericulture and make it become one of the non-timber forest product priorities. However, the competitive advantages alone have not encouraged the development of prospective sericulture industry in Indonesia yet. This paper is a review of tropical sericulture development in Indonesia. The literature on the development of sericulture in Indonesia between 1989 and 2022 is used to describe conditions related to mulberry cultivation (moriculture), and silkworm rearing (sericulture), as well as the state of socio-economic development, culture, and institutions. Moriculture and sericulture techniques, socio-economic aspects, institutional arrangements, and community motivations are intertwined, creating a challenging atmosphere for sericulture development. There are potential resources, such as exploring quality mulberry production and quality silkworm production through research and development, valuable cultural aspects, and potential stakeholders to build network engagement. Commitment, cooperation, and action from all stakeholders are needed to enhance the development of sericulture in Indonesia. In this context, the central government can play an important role in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships in the development of integrated sericulture in Indonesia.

Developing agroforestry systems in private forests is expected to increase productivity. This study aims to determine the appropriate agroforestry design for Falcataria moluccana-based private forests in Central Lombok Regency. Three intercrop species were tested: small taro (Colocasia esculenta), ginger (Zingiber officinale), and vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andrews). This study was established using a completely randomized design. The three planting combinations were examined in three replications for a total of nine test plots: F. moluccana+vanilla+small taro (FmVT), F. moluccana+vanilla+ginger (FmVG), and F. moluccana+vanilla+ginger+small taro (FmVGT). Each test plot was 10 x 10 m and was located at 3 x 3 m spacing under a 3-year-old F. moluccana stand. The measured variables were crop survival rates, plant yields, and microclimatic data. The correlation between the variables was examined using the Pearson Product Moment, Duncan's advanced multiple range test (DMRT), and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The market price was used to determine the crop's economic value. The best agroforestry design was based on the economic value of crop production and the land equivalent ratio. The results indicated that the combination of F. moluccana, vanilla, ginger, and small taro, which generated an additional income of IDR 11,851,250 ha-1 a year, should be widely promoted and adopted.

Noko rattan (Daemonorops robusta) and tohiti rattan (Calamus inops) are the Sulawesi local rattans that are not yet cultivated due to obstacles in its cultivation techniques, especially in seed germination. The purpose of this study was to determine the breaking of dormancy of rattan noko and tohiti seeds. The treatments used are: control, scarification, soaked in the water for 24 hours, soaked in the mono sodium glutamat solution for 24 hours, and soaked in coconut water for 24 hours. The experimental design was completely randomized design. The parameters observed were the initial moisture content of the seed, the first day of germination, germination capacity, germination rate and germination value. The results show that both rattans seeds are recalcitrant. Noko rattan is easier to germinate than Tohiti rattan and the best treatment of dormancy breaking was used immersion with coconut water. In noko rattan, broken dormancy of the 13^th day with germination capacity of 91.98%, mean germination time of 32.92 days and a germination value of 0.001. Tohiti rattan was able to break dormancy in the 29^th day with 88.67% of germination capacity, 58.63 days of mean germination time and 0.001 of germination value.

Inorganic–organic hybrid biomaterials have recently attracted much attention because of their widespread use. Silkworm cocoon filaments resulting from sericulture as prospective nanobiomaterials need to be improved, and their properties need to be used for broader purposes. This study was aimed at investigating methods for siliconization of silkworm cocoon filaments and characterizing their cocoon filament properties in terms of their yarn quality, natural dyeing, and antibacterial properties. Three methods of hybridization processes were used in this experiment, namely, in situ natural dyeing of silk yarns while silk filaments were spined, feed engineering through spraying the mulberry leaves with natural dyes and silica–phosphate–M (M = Cu, Fe, or Al) nano pastes, and a combination of both methods. The resulting cocoon filaments were characterized by their siliconization of filament fibers by using FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDS methods. The yarn tensile strength, color quality, color fastness properties affected by the siliconization of silk filament fibers, and antibacterial properties were also investigated. Results showed that the combination method produced better siliconization of silk fibers, and, consequently, the better siliconization of silk fibers produced better natural dyeing as well as antibacterial properties of their resulting silk yarns.