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The farming of the Edible Nest Swiflet for their nests is an important industry for a number of people all  around  Indonesia especially  East Java.   The  nest from the Edible  Nest Swiftlet is made purely from the saliva of the bird, and is eaten for its health benefits. The nest is produced to make a soup and the  majority  of the nests  produced  in Indonesia are  exported to China with most  going  to Hong Kong.

The Edible Nest Swiftlet traditionally built its nests at the top of caves. As a result, it can be extremely  difficult  and  dangerous to  collect these  nests. They  also make  their nests  in the  rafters of empty houses.  Because of this, people buy houses that already have colonies of Swiftlets in them and turn these houses into commercial enterprises. Because this method is very effective, business people have built buildings especially designed to attract and farm these Swiftlet birds.  

To be  successful in farming  the  Edible  Nest Swiflet, there  are  a  number of  factors involved.  These  are: location, climate, the environment, building  design, availability  of food and technique  of attracting  the correct birds.   All these  factors are  equally  important in order to be  successful in this industry.  

Farmers of  the Edible  Nest Swiflet can be  categorised into three  distinct classes. These  are: upper, middle and lower class. The lower class owns small buildings and uses little technology. They  always build their birds nest buildings in the area in which they live and are happy to produce the nests  of the Seriti bird, which is easier to farm and is sold at a cheaper price than the Edible Nest Swiflet.

The middle class also build in the area in which they live and are also quite happy producing the  nest from the Seriti bird, however, the middle class build much larger buildings than the working class and use more advanced technology and methods.

The upper class use slightly more advanced technology and knowledge than the middle class, however, the upper class live in large cities and build their birds nest houses in areas which are most suitable for the farming of these birds.  The upper class farmers only aim to produce the nests of the Edible  Nest Swiftlets and not the Seriti bird nest. As a  result, this class uses a  number of  different methods and are willing to wait a number of years to become successful in this industry.

The  local government in  the district of  Blitar  in East Java  has attempted  to be  active  in this industry. For example, creating a book about farming methods as well as holding a seminar to discuss methods and thoughts on the industry. On the whole, however, the local government in Blitar plays a very minor role in this industry, collecting little tax from bird nest owners. When queried by the tax department, bird nest owners will frequently say they are yet to harvest the nests from their buildings in  order to escape having to pay tax. Bird nest owners who are unsuccessful in producing nests, however, are  very  interested in the local government playing  a  larger role  in this industry  so that they  can be
assisted in their enterprise.

Unfortunately, the majority  of bird nest owners do not wish to  cooperate with the local government in Blitar, making it very difficult for them to create data on the number of kilograms of nests  produced within Blitar.   If the local government created and enforced a  law  that allowed government workers to be given access to the birds nest buildings and inspect the number and quality of the nests this would ensure that the correct amount of tax is collected and that this money could be invested in ensuring that the industry survives. However, there are many obstacles to overcome such as corruption and lax  government attitudes before  the local government in Blitar  can say  they  play  a  positive role in this industry.