2014-11-26
LWG meeting for drafting SOP
In the wake of the market survey last March conducted by the Local Working Group (LWG) and rattan furniture producers in Palu, a few producers have been continuing the sales visit to the local market and have received some orders from local modern segment (government offices, hotels and cafes), owing to those sales visit and issuance of support letters by the mayor to promote the usage of locally produced rattan furniture in government and business offices.
In parallel, in order to improve a low quality caused by an inadequate treatment in intermediate processing of raw rattan and inconsistent quality management in production process by producers, LWG has started drafting the standard operating procedure (SOP) of rattan furniture production as a tool for quality audit.
The SOP shall include the points to be checked at the time of purchase of intermediate processed rattan, and operational procedures/ tools and materials to be used by producers in every step of production. Central Sulawesi Provincial Dinas and Palu City Dinas, core LWG members, have been working on drafting the SOP in consultation with some producers and the National Rattan Innovation Center (PIRNaS). Once the SOP is prepared, LWG will visit the workshops of producers in order to conduct such an audit by confirming their production processes and giving a necessary technical guidance. Subsequently LWG is planning to issue a quality certificate for each qualified producer.