The
Underst ry A deeper look into the Rainforest Alliance’s work in Asia
ISSUE 3
AUTUMN 2021
Welcome to The Understory The Rainforest Alliance’s newsletter for the passionate supporters who share our mission to create a better future for people and nature. un·der·sto·ry [noun]: A layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest IN THIS EDITION: Read about our work to stop deforestation and build thriving livelihoods in Asia. A MESSAGE FROM OUR STAFF
Intan Fardinatri, Team Manager, Coffee and Spices SNAPSHOT: Our Impact Across Asia OUR ALLIANCE IN ACTION
Transforming the Cocoa Sector in Indonesia & Addressing Human Rights on Hazelnut Farms in Turkey FEATURE STORY
Investing in Jembrana’s Youth MEET OUR ALLIANCE MEMBERS
Anisha Rajapakse & Agung Widi THE AMBASSADORS CIRCLE CONTACT US
ISSUE 3
AUTUMN 2021
ABOUT THE RAINFOREST ALLIANCE:
2.3 million +
farmers in our certification program
70
countries around the world with active projects and/or certified farms
68
active projects directly benefiting farmers, forest communities, and nature
OUR MISSION: The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.
6.8 million +
hectares of global farmland certified against our sustainability standards
5,000 +
companies working with us to source certified ingredients and improve their business practices
Our multifaceted approach to shaping a more sustainable world:
CERTIFICATION We certify products that are grown in accordance with our standards, which support environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
SUPPLY CHAIN SERVICES We advise companies on how to drive sustainability within their supply chains, source responsibly, monitor progress, and innovate to accelerate transformation.
LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT We work with farmers and forest communities to conserve and restore landscapes while improving livelihoods.
ADVOCACY We work with companies and governments to advance policies that promote sustainability improvements, human rights (such as gender equality), and youth education.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR STAFF
guardians of the forest BY INTAN FARDINATRI | TEAM MANAGER, COFFEE AND SPICES
“I believe we have this gift—we have the forest. I’m hopeful that with the right approach we can protect the remaining ecosystems, forest, and wildlife in Indonesia.” INTAN FARDINATRI
Intan Diani Fardinatri, the Rainforest Alliance’s coffee and spices program manager in Indonesia, has spent 10 years working with rural communities in the buffer areas around Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. Her goal: helping local farmers to grow their crops—and improve their livelihoods—in harmony with South Sumatra’s lush, ancient environment.
Click above to watch our video about Intan’s “Hopes & Dreams” for Indonesia’s forests. 4 | THE UNDERSTORY
The Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is an important biodiversity hub and UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to rare elephants, rhinos, and tigers. Sadly, about a quarter of the park’s forest cover has been destroyed in recent decades. Much of this destruction happened for the sake of conventional coffee cultivation. But it doesn’t have to be like that. In my role at the Rainforest Alliance, I work directly with local coffee farmers in the park’s buffer zones to create more sustainable (and profitable) ways of farming. It’s all about commitment and collaboration with the forest communities and farmers themselves. We brainstorm with local farmers about what sustainability means to them and what that means in terms of better growing practices. Then we put their ideas and thoughts into a workplan, which they implement and monitor, with our assistance. I believe
FARMERS PLANTING TREES IN INDONESIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ONE TREE PLANTED
that working in this way can protect our remaining tropical forests. A great example of this approach was the huge tree-planting initiative we embarked upon last year with the support of One Tree Planted. Together, we planted 124,000 native tree seedlings in Kotaagung Utara—a government-operated Forest Management Unit in the buffer zone bordering the national park. The trees were carefully selected to fill multiple roles in the natural ecosystem and local economy: • • • • •
Fruit trees and spices to diversify farmers’ incomes Shade trees to protect coffee plants from the heat Flowering trees to attract birds and pollinators Bamboo to strengthen riverbanks and prevent flooding Sugar palm for soil stability
This strategic reforestation provides extra sources of income for farmers and improves the quality of their crops, while also helping to safeguard biodiversity and prevent landslides and flooding. A vital aspect of my work is helping farmers to understand that they can make a better living only by protecting the forest and its biodiversity. That doesn’t just mean more sustainable farming practices; it also means protecting rivers and waterfalls, reporting illegal logging to local authorities, encouraging ecotourism, and developing a deeper appreciation for the natural world. It’s important to me that farmers around Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park are aware of both their rights and responsibilities. They are the true guardians of this forest. I’m hopeful that through collaboration and innovation, we can protect Indonesia’s precious ecosystems and support the communities who depend on them.
ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 5
SNAPSHOT
our Impact across asia
Sadly, for complex reasons of history, politics, and global economics, these very same commodity sectors face hugely daunting social and environmental challenges, such as deforestation and child labor. At the same time, small-scale farmers are disproportionately feeling the impacts of the climate crisis—droughts, floods, shorter growing seasons—along with all the economic insecurity that comes with such challenges. That’s why the Rainforest Alliance works with farming and forest communities throughout Asia to protect nature in ways that advance the rights and prosperity of rural communities—and vice versa.
6 | THE UNDERSTORY
Through our certification and landscapes programs, we help farmers adapt to and prepare for climate impacts. Taking a climate-smart approach, we use a variety of tools to first assess the climate risk and vulnerability of landscape and then help farmers implement targeted growing techniques designed to tackle those specific challenges. For example, for cocoa farmers in Indonesia struggling to grow their crops in excessive heat, the climate-smart solution could involve planting shade trees.
Photo: IGN Andre Stiana (& cover photo)
Stretching from the Pacific in the east to the Anatolian peninsula in the west, Asia is the Earth’s largest and most diverse continent. Many of the world’s most commonly traded goods are produced by rural communities across Asia—from coffee in Java and cocoa in Bali to tea grown across the hill estates of Sri Lanka and India.
Our Priority Crops cocoa coffee tea banana palm oil hazelnut forest products Rainforest Alliance offices
TURKEY
CHINA
PHILIPPINES
INDIA VIETNAM SRI LANKA INDONESIA
19
years working in Asia
50
staff members across the region
300,000 +
farmers we work with
Our holistic approach in Asia includes: • • • • • • • • •
Agroforestry Climate-smart agriculture Integrated landscape management (ILM) Preserving biodiversity Youth education Strengthening rural livelihoods Preventing child labor and forced labor Reforestation Promoting gender equality ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 7
OUR ALLIANCE IN ACTION
Photo: IGN Andre Stiana
Transforming the Cocoa Sector in Indonesia
Indonesia is the top cocoa producer in Asia. While global demand for cocoa is booming, Indonesian production has fallen into decline in recent years— threatening the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers across the country. Back in 2011, the Rainforest Alliance and Bali-based NGO Kalimajari launched a highly successful pilot program to boost farmers’ incomes through the production of high value fermented cocoa. Within a few years, this pilot doubled the income of more than 600 local farmers and reduced rural unemployment rates. And now, together with our local partners, we’re scaling up this success to cover seven other cocoa8 | THE UNDERSTORY
growing areas across East Nusa Tenggara province and the islands of Bali and Sulawesi. The Rainforest Alliance is training 3,400 local farmers in more sustainable growing methods (to improve both crop productivity and yield quality) as well as cocoa fermentation techniques—where the raw pods are split open to expose their pulp to yeast. This process strongly influences the quality and flavor of the cocoa beans, allowing farmers to sell them on at a better price to specialty markets. We will also provide training support in farm management and financial literacy skills, which will help small-scale famers and independent cooperatives to enter the cocoa value chain and forge more profitable business partnerships with buyers and traders.
Photo: Durak Hazelnuts
Addressing human rights on Hazelnut Farms in Turkey
“It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child. And that’s exactly how we need to tackle child labor —with the involvement of the whole community.” IDIL ANDER Rainforest Alliance | Social Programs Manager On Turkey’s Black Sea coast, the start of the summer hazelnut harvest is signaled each year by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of seasonal agricultural workers and their children. Most families come from the poverty-stricken southeast region of Turkey, near the border with Syria. Living in temporary tent settlements (sometimes without even clean water), parents have little choice but to bring their children to the farms, where they are tasked with exhausting and even dangerous work. In some areas, more than 40 percent of workers are aged 15-18, and up to 10 percent are even younger.
Experience has taught us that a collaborative approach is key to tackling child labor on farms. For example, we work with farmers, local NGOs, and company partners to appoint community-based Child Labor Liaisons (CLLs) who undergo training in how to prevent and mitigate abuses at the farm level. Liaisons are carefully chosen and are generally respected figures in our partner communities— making them ideally placed to engage effectively with fellow farmers and workers: from listening to parents’ concerns to raising awareness of other critical issues, such as health and education.
ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 9
FEATURE STORY
Photos: Auditya Sari / Kalimajari Foundation
Investing in Jembrana’s Youth
Global demand for more sustainably produced cocoa is booming—which should be great news for Indonesia’s small-scale cocoa farmers, who make up the vast majority of the country’s million-plus cocoa producers. But the 13,000 small-scale farmers in Bali’s Jembrana Regency struggle with unproductive, aging trees they can’t afford to replace, and crucially, a lack of capacity to ferment cocoa beans, which could greatly improve their incomes. And while the area could potentially grow more than 6,000 hectares of prime cocoa, only 10 percent of the
10 | THE UNDERSTORY
farmers there are young people. Resources like land, technical knowledge, and access to cooperatives are often out of reach to the very people who could make good on the region’s growing potential. Increasing awareness about the profitability of producing cocoa in harmony with nature, while lowering barriers for youth who want to enter the sector is crucial. For that reason, in 2017 the Rainforest Alliance and the Kalimajari Foundation launched the Sustainable Action and Advocacy in Kakao (SUBAK) project in Jembrana.
Together, we conducted both formal and informal learning experiences with the youth of Jembrana. A highlight of this work was an in-depth research program called the AJS Student Research Scholarship Program. Ten students were selected to participate in the program, during which they participated in mentoring, trainings, internships, and visits to farms, cooperatives, and a local chocolate factory. The students also conducted research on various aspects of cocoa production, including gender in the value chain, fermentation, and the connection between cocoa and health. As part of the program, three participants spoke to an audience of more than 300 at an event celebrating the National Memorial Day of Young Heroes. As a result of the program, student participants have deepened their commitment to working in the cocoa sector and farming more sustainably, and some are now even pursuing degrees in agriculture. Though the SUBAK project has formally ended, the youth work and scholarship program were such a success that they are now being scaled up.
In parallel with building youth knowledge, the SUBAK project conducted training for cocoa farmers in technical skills and climate-smart agricultural practices. We supported farmer groups in formalizing the cocoa fermentation process, increasing the quality of their cocoa. To complement this, we facilitated farmers in making market connections with buyers for their more sustainably produced cocoa. We also assisted farmers in establishing and managing tree nurseries to grow new, productive cocoa trees. Increasing both the quality and productivity of cocoa farms results in higher incomes for farmers, reducing the temptation to expand cropland into the surrounding rainforest. Regenerating and protecting tropical rainforests is key to slowing climate change. To do this, forest guardians like farmers—and the farmers of tomorrow—are key to any approach. Our best chance to combat climate change is to support communities on the ground to improve their livelihoods and protect their ecosystems. With this in mind, we plan to scale up this work in other parts of Indonesia through a continued partnership with the Kalimajari Foundation.
ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 11
MEET OUR ALLIANCE MEMBERS
Anisha Rajapakse “Together, I believe we can tackle some of the world’s most pressing human rights issues and ensure that respect for people and the planet remains high on the global agenda.” ANISHA RAJAPAKSE Rainforest Alliance Board Member
Anisha Rajapakse joined the Rainforest Alliance’s board of directors in July 2021. She is a senior global expert with more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of human rights, business, and international development. A British national of Sri Lankan origin, and currently based in Asia, Anisha continues to engage closely with businesses to promote responsible business practices and embed social sustainability into corporate plans and strategies. She is a passionate advocate of ensuring safe jobs in dignified working conditions in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
12 | THE UNDERSTORY
agung widi After corruption and bankruptcy all but destroyed the Kerta Samaya Samaniya (KSS), a cocoa cooperative in rural Jembrana, Bali, local farming families began spiraling deeper into poverty. That’s when Agung Widi stepped in. In 2002 she launched the Kalimajari Foundation with the express purpose of revitalizing the cooperative. Today more than 600 farmer members belong to KSS, which is now Rainforest Alliance Certified—and all are enjoying better livelihoods while working the land in ways that can be sustained for years to come.
Widi and her organization lead a formal gender equity advocacy program as well, at the district and national level. And when the COVID-19 crisis led to a drop in incomes at KSS, the cooperative quickly pivoted to processing their raw pods into cocoa nibs, which have a longer shelf life—and the Kalimajari Foundation got to work once again, this time to secure guarantees from international buyers to purchase the nibs.
“From togetherness we can find a good market and increase the bargaining position of the farmer.” AGUNG WIDI Kalimajari Foundation
ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 13
JOIN THE ALLIANCE
Become an Ambassador
for the Rainforest Alliance! The Rainforest Alliance’s Ambassadors Circle is a diverse group of dedicated supporters whose interests and strengths reinforce our organization’s mission to prevent deforestation, mitigate climate change, strengthen livelihoods, and promote human rights. Our ambassadors are a key part of our alliance who support our mission through one or more of the following ways: • amplifying the Rainforest Alliance’s voice on media or social media channels; • strengthening our collective impact through fundraising; • extending our reach through connecting us with others who share our mission. The Rainforest Alliance offers ambassadors unique opportunities for networking and educational growth in the subjects that interest them most, such as sustainable agriculture, human rights, forestry, or climate change. This includes webinars and events as well as working closely with our senior staff and board of directors. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador for the Rainforest Alliance, please reach out to Caroline at cbernal-silva@ra.org.
14 | THE UNDERSTORY
Leave your Legacy Have you included the Rainforest Alliance in your estate planning? By making a planned gift to the Rainforest Alliance, you can create a meaningful legacy for future generations. Donors who include the Rainforest Alliance in their estate plans or wills are among our most dedicated supporters and are welcomed into the Judith Sulzberger Legacy Society. Join today and receive lifetime benefits including updates on our work, invitations to special events, and recognition in our annual report. To learn more, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org/giftplanning or contact Gabriela at gabrielasanchez@ra.org.
To help make planned giving easier than ever, the Rainforest Alliance has partnered with FreeWill, a platform that allows you to write a will online for free and walks you through the process step by step. It only takes 20 minutes to complete your legally valid plans! Visit freewill.com/rainforestalliance to get started today.
ISSUE 3 | AUTUMN 2021 | 15
THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR ALLIANCE.
STAY IN T O UC H
We’d love to hear from you!
Please reach out directly to Gabriela at gabrielasanchez@ra.org.
The
Underst ry
FOLLOW US: