Rozalita is one of many women the project has helped. Working with her husband, she began growing pineapples when the price of palm oil fell in 2018. She explains that, at first, they found it hard to sell the pineapples and lots were wasted. But after training from the programme, Rozalita and the other women began processing the fruit into pineapple sticks, sweets, jams and syrups, and are now earning far more from the sale of the goods created.

We received a lot of support from the programme. Firstly, and most important to us, was the training. It really helped because at that time we didn't really know how to take care of the pineapples. They taught us how to make the raw materials into finished products and more. The tools were all from them, such as the pot for cooking. Rozalita

In addition to this training, farmers in the village - who live on peatlands and depend on oil palm and now also pineapples for a living - were taught how to manage their existing peatland so it does not dry out and become susceptible to fire. Demonstration plots were created in villages to teach farmers best practices, which most of the farmers have since adopted.

The farmers of Mengkapan are among the latest farmers to benefit from peatland management training. In 2021, Unilever supported 209 independent smallholder farmers of theBeringin Jaya Cooperative in Siak in becoming RSPO certified; the training covered peatland management.Protecting forests and supporting communities

The work is part of the Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme (SPLP), an initiative supported by a coalition of eight companies, including Unilever, and facilitated by independent consultant companies Proforest and Daemeter. Together we are trying to protect forests, restore ecosystems and encourage sustainable production. This kind of landscape-based project relies on collaboration, because we recognise that no single organisation or group of people working alone can achieve what's possible when everyone works together.

As Jimmy Wilopo, Landscape Project Manager, Daemeter and Co-Lead, Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme, says, "Protecting forests requires collaboration and partnerships with all key stakeholders, including private sector companies that are sourcing from production landscapes.

"In addition, we also need to show communities that they don't have to depend solely on one commodity, and that they can still make a living while protecting the environment. Through the SPLP, we help kickstart programmes to enable smallholders to have a living income."

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