Factors Affecting Women’s Capacities as Traditional Sago Starch Processors in Maluku, Indonesia

The objectives of this research were to describe the capacity level of women as traditional sago starch processors and to analyze factors which affected women’s capacity in processing sago starch as traditional home industry.   Research was conduct in the Districts of Central Maluku and West Seram involved 204 households of sago starch processing as respondents which determined from population (416 households) by Slovin formula with degree of error 5% and drawn by simple random sampling method.  Data collection was undertaken in January until April 2012.  Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS v.20).  Result showed that characteristics of social economic of traditional sago starch processor (namely age, length of time in business, informal education, motivation, family size, and individual beliefs about the social and cultural values of sago) and support from institution of agriculture extension affected personal capacity.  Personal capacity affected business capacity and in the next term business capacity affected productivity. Increasing productivity will increase income.  This means that the sago starch processors with higher personal capacity will do better in business.