Blog: Press Releases Over 200 teachers in Sumatra participate in virtual workshop on forest and land fire prevention

Jakarta, 29 July 2020 – More than 200 teachers from six provinces in Sumatra took part in a fun, virtual workshop to learn creative techniques in educating students on the importance of forest and land fire prevention.

This was the first time Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food facilitated a virtual training programme for teachers, after launching the Rumbun and Sahabat Rimba book and related educational material earlier in the year.

Inspired by the story of Rumbun and Sahabat Rimba, the virtual workshop was designed by Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food’s education practitioners, to replace direct meetings which are currently not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For five years, our Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA) programme has focused its attention on three key elements: fire prevention, peatland conservation and food security. Given that children belong to the group receiving negative impacts of forest and land fire and should be taught why forest and land fire must be avoided, we are expanding this effort through education. With the success of the first workshop, we hope this learning process continues and teachers can acquire as well as pass the knowledge on to their students,” explained Agus Purnomo, Managing Director of Sustainability and Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Sustainability at Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food.

The participants of this workshop were teachers who hailed from several provinces in Sumatra with risks of forest and land fire, such as Lampung, South Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, Riau, Jambi and North Sumatra. The two-hour event garnered positive response from the teachers. The participants asked many questions, of which some had to be responded after the event via email or WhatsApp due to time constraint.

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Sumatra has varied internet connectivity which posed its own challenges to the workshop. Participants from provinces with good internet network such as Riau and Bangka Belitung managed to attend the event without any issue. However, there were provinces where participants only able to listen to the audio/voice without having visuals from the presentation.

Working together with the teams on the ground, the Company dealt with these connectivity issues by printing workshop materials beforehand for participants who were unable to watch the presentation. Also, the presenter informed each page being presented to his/her audience to help them follow the workshop.

“At first, we were concerned that network problems would affect teachers’ enthusiasm in following the workshop. Surprisingly, however, they attended the event until the end and even raised numerous questions for the presenter,” commented Muhammad Rozi, a Sustainable Palm Oil Officer with the North Sumatera Office of Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, who provided on-the-ground support to the participants.

The book Rumbun and Sahabat Rimba and other educational materials are currently available online and downloadable through this link. Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food continues its engagement with teachers through daily tips via WhatsApp to ensure they receive the necessary support in implementing lessons learned from the workshop.

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About Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food
In Indonesia, all Golden Agri-Resources’ (GAR’s) palm oil related businesses operate under the Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food brand. Outside of Indonesia, the majority of GAR-owned entities operate under the GAR brand. When talking about GAR’s total business interests in Indonesia, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is used.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food operates with a total planting area in Indonesia reaching more than 495,247 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as at 30 September 2019, located in Indonesia. It has integrated operations focused on the production of palm-based edible oil and fat. Focus on sustainable palm oil production, its primary activities in Indonesia include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, biodiesel and oleo-chemicals; as well as merchandising palm products throughout the world. It also has operations in China and India including a deep-sea port, oilseeds crushing plant, production capabilities for refined edible oil products as well as other food products such as noodles.

Founded in 1996, GAR was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 and has a market capitalisation of US$2.1 billion as at 30 September 2019. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GAR’s largest shareholder, with a 50.35 percent stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992. GAR is focused on responsible palm oil production.

For more information about Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, visit www.smart-tbk.com

For more information, please contact

Beni Wijaya
[email protected]