Transmitting Skills and the Community of Practice in a Boat-Builder’s Society in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

J. Lave and E. Wenger (1991) proposed the concept of a “community of practice” (CP) in which people share ideas and practice skills together to achieve the same goals. In a globalized society, experts from various fields have explored ideal models of CPs because many CPs, including ones engaged in primary industries and craft production, are facing the possibility of disappearance. Iida (2010) suggested a new model called a “community of bricolage practice” (CBP) in which people practice bricolage skills to adapt to fluid conditions, and CBPs have been proposed as a way to survive in a globalized era. This paper examines the features of the CP(s) of a boat-builders’ society in South Sulawesi based on an analysis of the transmission of the skills of boatbuilding, boat-builders’ career patterns, and their attitudes toward making boats. The boat-builders acquire the skills during actual practice at the boatyard, and they improve their skills by working in several workshops. The philosophy that boat-builders hold, in which boats are regarded as humans, promotes harmony and a tolerant attitude toward others and fluid situations. This attitude enables boat-builders to work flexibly according to changing circumstances and develop their careers at several boatyards. In addition, their flexible attitude when faced with fluid conditions demonstrates a new ideal model of CBP in which people have bricolage skills for not only actual practices but also adaptation within the community itself, enabling them to cooperate with various people who have different skills or backgrounds and employ a new management system. The study reveals the crucial factors in maintaining CP(s) and their activity as an ideal model of community within a globalized society.