InfoSAWIT, KUTAI KARTANEGARA — The Belayan Sejahtera Plantation Cooperative in Muai Village, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, has taken an unconventional path in addressing environmental compensation obligations for oil palm land identified in the Land Use Change Analysis (LUCA). Instead of simply paying for past environmental impacts, the cooperative has transformed the obligation into an investment aimed at building a sustainable future.
Cooperative Chairman Jamaluddin said the 407.07 hectares requiring compensation were not seen as a burden, but as an opportunity to restore the environment and create a lasting, sustainable ecosystem.
“We are not paying for the past; we are planting for the future,” Jamaluddin said in an official statement to InfoSAWIT on Saturday (Aug. 9, 2025).
With that vision, the cooperative decided to support the Muai Village Organic Farmers Group, which consists of 28 farmers who have been practicing organic farming and utilizing oil palm waste from the outset—without any incentives.
With cooperative backing, they built an organic fertilizer production facility on a 5,600-square-meter site, creating an “Organic Village Park” that blends environmental education, healthy food production, water conservation, and green spaces for residents. The initiative includes a production house, community gardens, a farmer field school, and workshops on converting waste into organic fertilizer, biochar, and palm peat.
The cooperative also engaged the village government, indigenous communities, and nearby palm oil companies to supply raw waste materials, share knowledge, and strengthen the circular economy.
This initiative gained momentum from the sale of RSPO Independent Smallholder Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel Oil (IS-CSPKO) credits in 2025, all of which were purchased by Nestlé, generating IDR 1.83 billion. Part of the incentive—IDR 56.17 million, calculated proportionally based on LUCA-recorded land size—was allocated to fund recovery projects rather than paying a simple fine.
The funds have been channeled into building learning spaces, the organic fertilizer production house, community gardens, and the village park—living legacies expected to deliver long-term social, economic, and ecological benefits.
“We want to prove that independent smallholders, if given space and trust, can become pioneers of transformation. For us, sustainability is not about who pays the most, but who acts with the most sincerity,” Jamaluddin stressed.
Belayan Sejahtera Cooperative’s initiative sets a precedent that RSPO incentives can go beyond economic value, serving as the foundation for genuine social and ecological transformation at the village level. (T2)
