The Tukang Besi Islands are located in the northeastern part of the Flores Sea, southeast of the island of Buton. There are five main inhabited islands — Wanci, Kambode, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko — and a number of smaller, mostly uninhabited, islands. The islands previously formed part of the realm of the Sultanate of Buton, but since 1964 they have been part of the province of Southeast Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara). The capital of the province is the sprawling town of Kendari, located on the shores of Kendari Bay. Until recently, the Tukang Besi Islands were part of the Regency of Buton, with its administrative centre at Baubau, and the region was divided into four sub-districts (kecamatan): Wangi Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko.
The chain of islands is adjacent to one of the largest and most biologically diverse coral reef systems in Indonesia (Tomascik et al. 1997: 754). In July 1996 the Tukang Besi Archipelago was declared a Marine National Park by the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature. The Wakatobi Marine National Park [1] includes all the reefs and islands in the archipelago and covers 1.39 million hectares (13 900 km2), which make it the second largest designated marine protected area in Indonesia (Stanzel and Newman 1997).
The Tukang Besi people are well known throughout Indonesia and beyond as ‘daring seafarers, shipbuilders and maritime traders’ (Evers 1991: 147). The maritime economy in the Tukang Besi Islands developed because these relatively infertile islands can only support a limited amount of small-scale agriculture, mainly during the period of the west monsoon. During the dry or east monsoon season the economy focuses on maritime activities, including collecting, fishing and trading. The trading routes can range as far as Singapore, Malaysia, Java and West Papua, and the trade involves a range of cargoes including timber, salt, tubers, second-hand clothes, copra and spices. These are mostly derived from other parts of Indonesia, particularly from Maluku and Java.
The main town of Wanci is located in the metropolitan Wanse-Pongo area. Government departments and services, junior and senior high schools, and a losmen (guest house) are all located in Pongo. The main market was in Pongo, but a few years ago was shifted to the village of Mandati I, which is the closest land village to Mola Utara. [3] Wanci can be reached by a number of routes, all involving long and arduous journeys. From Baubau, the capital of Buton, buses travel to the village of Lasalimu on the eastern coast of Buton, which is usually a three-hour trip. From here a Wanci-based ferry, and more recently a passenger speedboat, travel daily between the islands, which is usually a two- to three-hour trip. Ferries also make a 16-hour trip directly from Kendari to Wanci, usually once or twice a week.
The old capital of the vassal state of Kaledupa was Buranga, but now Ambeua is the official capital of the kecamatan which includes Kaledupa Island, the nearby island of Hoga, and the two uninhabited islands of Lintea and Tiwolu. There are ten desa on Kaledupa. Daily transport operates between Wanse or Wanci.
WAKATOBI ISLAND ( SOUTH EAST SULAWESI)
