Navigating Oil Palm Swamps

Over the past few decades, rural areas in Indonesia, particularly in West Kalimantan, have undergone major transformations due to the rapid expansion of large-scale oil palm plantations. This development has given rise to lahan basah (“wetland”), a fluid socio-economic space characterised by opportunity, competition, and shifting power dynamics. Based on a year of ethnographic fieldwork in Sintang, this study explores the emerging role of go-betweens: individuals who mediate between actors and institutions within this evolving resource frontier. Their emergence and influence are shaped not only by structural changes following decentralisation, but also by personal agency and extensive social networks.

The study identifies five types of go-betweens—adaptive, speciality, opposing, positioning, and chameleon—each representing distinct strategies for navigating the volatile conditions of lahan basah. These roles are dynamic and context-specific. By analysing the interplay of structure, agency, and networks, this study offers a nuanced perspective on brokerage in Indonesia’s resource frontier and contributes to broader debates in anthropology and development studies.