Ranta (Barkcloth) from the Bada Valley, Central Sulawesi

Eman Hermawan1* and Lutfi Yondri2

The Bada community, situated in the Lore Highlands within Lore Lindu National Park, possesses distinctive biological and cultural diversity, as most of their territory lies inside the Lore Lindu National Park Biosphere Reserve. This area is also known as the Lore‑Lindu Megalithic Site, which has been included on the UNESCO Tentative List. The UNESCO designation and the “Land of a Thousand Megaliths” campaign have reignited the widespread use of ranta (barkcloth) among the Bada community, as this tradition is a legacy from the Neolithic period and is closely linked to megalithic sites. However, this resurgence has not been accompanied by sufficient availability of raw materials or botanical studies of the ranta tradition, leading to a shortage of raw materials; in some villages, craftspeople have ceased producing ranta. This research aims to analyse the diversity of useful plants and the genetic–forensic characteristics within the ranta tradition among the Bada community as a basis for the conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage.