Community Fiber Farms

Our Community Fiber Farms program fosters partnerships with land owners in the community to establish their own Acacia plantations. APRIL provides financing or assistance in securing financing, seedlings, and fertilizers; and maintains the plantations. After six years, the harvested wood contributes to our fiber requirements and the villagers have a 40% share in production on dry lands and 30% share on lowlands.

The scheme runs for up to six rotations, or approximately 40 years. By helping the local farmers become partners to our operations, we also tap the skills of traditional loggers. Our aim is also to provide this latter group with an alternative means of livelihood. Lacking the necessary licenses and approvals, they might otherwise be driven to illegal logging.

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Center for Corporate Social Responsibility adjudged our Community Fiber Farm Program as runner-up in the Environmental Excellence category of its Asian CSR Awards 2005. The Awards recognize the best CSR practices among companies operating in the region and attracted hundreds of entries from 91 companies across 12 countries.