Commitment in Action: P&G Visits Community-led Project in Sumatra
06 May 2025 - Stories From the Field
In February 2025, the Rimba Collective and BITRA Indonesia hosted the first in a series of trips for our founding partners, designed to introduce them to the realities of project implementation at ground level and demonstrate the impacts of their investment on lives and landscapes in Indonesia.
The project site chosen for this trip was BITRA’s Jambo Papeun Village Forest Project, which covers a total area of 13,594 hectares in the Meukek District of South Aceh in Sumatra – an essential buffer zone along the southern edge of Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), which is recognised by UNESCO as part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
P&G dispatched their Tropical Oils Sustainability Director, Mr Francis Wiederkehr, to learn more about the project. During the trip, he was able to see first-hand how corporate funding is helping deliver positive outcomes for people, communities and nature conservation, while also building greater resilience in commodity sourcing areas.
“We want to protect or restore forests in the landscapes linked to our supply chain footprint,” explained Mr Francis, who is responsible for environmental and social governance at P&G Chemicals in relation to the company’s tropical oils. “One of the reasons we joined the Rimba Collective is because Indonesia is one of our main palm oil sourcing regions and we wanted to make sure we have a positive impact in those areas where we do business.” In Aceh this February, Mr Francis was able to see signs of progress in person.
Read More | Song of the Forest: Restoring Harmony With Nature
“We are starting to see positive results.”
The trip presented Mr Francis with a broad brushstroke of activities implemented by BITRA in Aceh, which included meetings with the local forestry management unit, or Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa (LPHD); inspections of nutmeg and patchouli plantations, along with a visit to one of the area’s new patchouli oil processing plants; and a trip into the forest interior alongside the LPHD patrol team, who are working with BITRA to monitor biodiversity, map out forest boundaries and address the threats to nature conservation and resources in the region.
Interactions with local people would prove to be Mr Francis’ lasting memory from the trip: “I really liked the engagement with the community,” he explains, “and was very impressed with their dedication to preserve their forest. I have a lot of respect for these people; they can be proud of what they’re doing and achieving.” With funding support from P&G and other members of the Rimba Collective, BITRA Indonesia is helping these communities to turn motivation into meaningful, measurable progress.
The project site chosen for this trip was BITRA’s Jambo Papeun Village Forest Project, which covers a total area of 13,594 hectares in the Meukek District of South Aceh in Sumatra – an essential buffer zone along the southern edge of Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), which is recognised by UNESCO as part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
P&G dispatched their Tropical Oils Sustainability Director, Mr Francis Wiederkehr, to learn more about the project. During the trip, he was able to see first-hand how corporate funding is helping deliver positive outcomes for people, communities and nature conservation, while also building greater resilience in commodity sourcing areas.
“We want to protect or restore forests in the landscapes linked to our supply chain footprint,” explained Mr Francis, who is responsible for environmental and social governance at P&G Chemicals in relation to the company’s tropical oils. “One of the reasons we joined the Rimba Collective is because Indonesia is one of our main palm oil sourcing regions and we wanted to make sure we have a positive impact in those areas where we do business.” In Aceh this February, Mr Francis was able to see signs of progress in person.
Read More | Song of the Forest: Restoring Harmony With Nature
“We are starting to see positive results.”
The trip presented Mr Francis with a broad brushstroke of activities implemented by BITRA in Aceh, which included meetings with the local forestry management unit, or Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa (LPHD); inspections of nutmeg and patchouli plantations, along with a visit to one of the area’s new patchouli oil processing plants; and a trip into the forest interior alongside the LPHD patrol team, who are working with BITRA to monitor biodiversity, map out forest boundaries and address the threats to nature conservation and resources in the region.
Interactions with local people would prove to be Mr Francis’ lasting memory from the trip: “I really liked the engagement with the community,” he explains, “and was very impressed with their dedication to preserve their forest. I have a lot of respect for these people; they can be proud of what they’re doing and achieving.” With funding support from P&G and other members of the Rimba Collective, BITRA Indonesia is helping these communities to turn motivation into meaningful, measurable progress.
The visit proved to be a memorable experience for the communities too. Pak Aziman is the head of the LPHD. He had this to say on behalf of his group and the communities they represent: “thank you to Mr Francis for coming to our village – we hope you can visit again in future, engage with the community, bring new innovations and contribute ideas so that our people can have a clearer direction moving forward.”
Pak Umar is the Head of the Village in Jambo Papeun. He too expressed his gratitude to Mr Francis and P&G for the visit: “we are truly grateful for Mr Francis’ visit to our village and for seeing the progress we have made together in Jambo Papeun.” Pak Umar has also seen the benefits of this collaboration in his community over the past year. “Most people here lack the capital to develop their businesses,” he explains, “fortunately, BITRA’s support has helped us rehabilitate our nutmeg plantations, and we are starting to see positive results.”
“Shared Problems Need Shared Solutions. Everyone has a Vital Role to Play.”
The range of interconnected activities in Aceh taps into a concept that is central to P&G’s approach to sustainability in production landscapes. As Mr Francis explained during the visit, “one of the reasons P&G was attracted to the Rimba Collective was the potential to achieve multiple impacts, rather than focusing exclusively on one area.” He recently elaborated on this theme in our Progress Report for 2022-2024, stating that “the Rimba Collective is about the power of the AND, not the limitations of the OR; shared problems need shared solutions and expertise. Industry, NGOs, communities and individuals come together, and everyone has a unique and different but equally vital role to play.”
By joining the Rimba Collective, P&G have found a mechanism by which they can implement this holistic approach and achieve their sustainability commitments, while simultaneously building greater resilience into their supply chains. In Aceh, as with other locations in the Rimba Collective portfolio, local NGOs, communities and implementing partners are working together to deliver lasting, verifiable benefits at scale and across multiple sectors, from nature conservation to community empowerment, reforestation and supply chain resilience. This ‘bundling of units’ provides greater impact at scale in the long term. For Mr Francis and P&G, it was an especially attractive proposition. “This approach allows us to look at the totality of the problem,” he explains, before adding that, when addressing multiple areas of impact, “you need to be more creative, obviously, but it can be the spark for more sustainable ideas.”
In Aceh, the Jambo Papeun Village Forest Project is still in its early stages. It will require continuous support to achieve its stated aims and make a lasting impact on the region’s landscapes and livelihoods. Having seen the early signs of progress, and heard from local people about their plans for the future, Francis is convinced long-term collaboration can be the key to unlocking potential and delivering results. In the short-term, this partnership also provides an opportunity to create momentum, by empowering local communities to be the drivers of positive change.
For more insights into Mr Francis’ trip, including detailed information about the Rimba Collective’s collaboration with BITRA Indonesia in Aceh, please read the latest edition of our Stories From the Field series.
“It’s Hard Work to Get There, But Worth It”
Local people in Jambo Papeun are aware that progress will take time and are committed to making it happen. “This is a 25-year journey,” explains Pak Umar, the Head of the Village, “and we need ongoing assistance to ensure a prosperous future for our community while keeping our forests intact.” Similarly, in his role as head of the LPHD, Pak Aziman has already seen signs of progress. “Before BITRA’s monitoring programme, we faced many challenges,” he says. “People would enter the forest to hunt wildlife and disrupt the ecosystem. However, after BITRA introduced its patrol programme, we have been able to anticipate and minimise these harmful activities.”
Mr Francis was able to join one of these forest monitoring patrols during his visit – an experience that proved to be a highlight of the trip. “I really loved it,” he says, “the nature was just fantastic – the sights, the sounds, the calmness; it was really relaxing, I would say it was also inspirational. It's hard work to get there, but worth it.”
Importantly, the visit also demonstrated to Mr Francis and P&G exactly how their funding is making a difference at ground level. By meeting with members of BITRA Indonesia and the local LPHD in Aceh, he was able to develop personal relationships with the people implementing project activities, and get an insight into both the potential of these partnerships and the challenges they face. “Now I see the ground-level impacts this project is achieving,” said Mr Francis, “I’m even more convinced that we (P&G) made the right choice in joining the Rimba Collective.”
About BITRA Indonesia
BITRA Indonesia, formally known as the Indonesian Rural Skills Development Foundation (YABITRAPI) is committed to helping underprivileged and marginalised populations in rural areas. Founded in 1986, BITRA was officially registered as a Foundation (Yayasan) in 1992 and recognised through the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia in 2019. Aligned with the international categorisation of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), BITRA is dedicated to serving the needs of rural communities in Indonesia.
About the Rimba Collective
The Rimba Collective is a collaboration between four leading consumer goods manufacturers (P&G, Pepsico, Nestlé and Unilever) who source their agricultural commodities from Indonesia. By working together, these companies are able to deliver on their individual corporate sustainability objectives, while protecting and restoring natural landscapes, and supporting the development of sustainable livelihoods in the communities that live and work in these areas.
Through a portfolio of high-quality conservation and restoration projects, the Rimba Collective expects to achieve long-term impact at scale in Indonesia, with a commitment to restore and protect over 550,000 hectares of rich forest landscapes, upscale nature conservation efforts and improve 32,000 local livelihoods over the next 25 years and beyond.
To learn more about the Rimba Collective, please get in touch.