Swiftlets Becoming Neighbors: Sensory Place-making in the Edible Birds’ Nest Trade in Kapuas Hulu, Indonesia

Abstract

As smallholders increasingly specialize in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) across rural Southeast Asia, many modify their environments sensorially to influence and intensify commodity production. These sensory strategies blur the boundaries between wild and domesticated species and spaces. This paper examines how Dayak Taman households in Kapuas Hulu Regency, Indonesia, engage with the sensory dimensions of swiftlets (Aerodramus spp.) to attract them to roost in purpose-built structures and produce their edible nests (EBN) for sale. As swiftlet habitats shift from “wild” caves to more domesticated sites of production, these transitions reshape gendered household labor, social relations, and interspecies encounters. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, this study examines how Taman households reproduce more-than-human geographies by constructing sensory sites—through controlling temperature, sound, light, and scent—to invite swiftlets to become neighbors. These practices are shaped not only by technical expertise but also by gendered norms and customary (adat) practices. To conceptualize these dynamics, the paper develops the notion of "sensescapes": crafted and negotiated sensory landscapes where ecological, affective, and economic forces converge. By foregrounding the sensory and more-than-human dimensions of EBN production, this study contributes to emerging conversations in feminist political ecology and broader debates on human-nonhuman relations.