Chapter 2
Methods
The following chapter describes the methods used to collect the data for the research
components described in Chapter 1. First, it will be explained how the study sites were selected
and the informants chosen. Then the methods used to gather and analyze the data will be
discussed for each component, i.e., the inventory of sasi in central Maluku, the performance
analysis of sasi, the institutional analysis of the case study villages, institutional resilience
and contextual information including market and government structures.
2.1 Study Site Selection and Sampling
The Maluku province in eastern Indonesia is known as the province of a thousand islands. In
fact, there are 1,027 islands, covering about 10% of the entire area of the province and occupied
by about 1.8 million people (1990 census). Many of these islands are very small and surrounded
by productive coral reefs. The majority of families living in the small Maluku coastal
communities gain at least a portion of their living from exploitation of marine resources such
as reef fish, pelagic fish, shellfish and sea cucumbers.
Research was focused on central Maluku because sasi is known to occur here. In the provincial
capital, Ambon, appropriate working facilities and university-trained field staff were available,
and there was easy access to government offices and major fish markets. In Ambon, we were
also able to confer with other academic and NGO researchers knowledgeable about the
institution and involved in coastal management.
The research area, central Maluku, includes two administrative districts, Kabupaten Maluku
Tengah and Kotamadya Ambon. It is located at 2°50’-3°50’ South Latitude and 126°55’-128°45’
East Longitude. The total area of central Maluku is 284,308 km2, consisting of 255,090 km2 of
sea and 29,218 km2 of land. The major islands of the area are Seram, Buru, Ambon, the Lease
Islands (Haruku, Saparua and Nusa Laut) and the Bandas. Research was focused primarily
on the Lease Islands of Haruku, Saparua and Nusa Laut. To determine the extent and activity
of sasi, every village on these three islands has been included in the inventory (Figure 1).
The official administrative unit equivalent to a village in Maluku may be either a desa or a
dusun. A dusun is part of a desa but may be geographically distant from the larger village
where the local government resides. Ambon Island has a total of 61 desas (Anonymous 1992,
1995). Of these, 23 are suburbs of the city of Ambon, where the sasi institution has virtually
disappeared (Evans et al. 1996). Excluding the urban satellite villages around Ambon’s inner
harbor, there are 38 coastal desas on the island, of which we have documented 50%. The large
island of Seram has 136 rural coastal villages. On this island, seven villages, i.e., those who
are closest to Ambon (5% of the total), were surveyed.
Villages in Ambon and Seram were not selected randomly. They were selected using the
following criteria:
• Local information from Ambonese researchers strongly suggested that either there
was marine sasi or a complete absence of sasi.
• The village was within easy access of Ambon.
12 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia