Pandanus/pandan is a palm-like tree that grows wild. The leaves are collected and woven into a fine rope. Only the young leaves are cut so the plant will naturally regenerate. The young leaves are sliced into fine strips and sorted for further processing.

The Pandanus may look similar to seagrass material, but that's where the similarity ends. The harvesting of seagrass material is taking away vital foodstuff from nursery fish and is leading to large-scale coastal erosion.

Rattan is a name given to a palm/reed-like plant that grows in forests. It is ideal for weaving as its slender stems can grow for hundreds of meters in length with long internodes between the leaves. Rattan is a vine-like plant that uses other vegetation for support. Its economic value in forests where rattan grows can help protect forest land by providing an alternative to loggers who forgo timber logging and harvest rattan canes instead. Rattan is much easier to harvest, requires simpler tools and is much easier to transport. It also grows much faster than most tropical wood. This makes it a potential tool in forest maintenance since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than replaces trees.