Acehnese - Economy

Most Acehnese subsist through agriculture, primarily by raising rice; in the lowland areas, wet-rice culture is most common, and in the hills, dry-rice culture. Other important crops include sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, peanuts, coconuts, areca, maize, pepper, and, in some areas, coffee. Approximately one-third of the people raising crops do so as sharecroppers, and there are tens of thousands of agricultural laborers as well. Cattle and water buffalo are frequently raised for meat and as draft animals. In coastal areas, Acehnese fish with casting nets, seines, lines, and traps. The Acehnese are well known as metalworkers who fashion weapons as well as goods of gold and silver. Women weave high-quality cotton and silk textiles. Trade is important as a means of bringing cash to the village, and young men are expected to leave the village to trade or work during the first year of marriage.