This Indonesian Shipping Company Empowers Farmers Through Bamboo Plants

President Commissioner of the Meratus Group Charles Menaro. (Photo: Doc. Special)

JAKARTA - A shipping company in Indonesia with the WE-Empower organization and the Singapore University of Social Science (SUSS) educational institution pioneer programs that focus on social entrepreneurship and community innovation throughout the ASEAN region.

Meratus Group President Commissioner Charles Menaro said this commitment is expected to encourage companies to participate in this philanthropic and CSR project.

"One of the programs planned to start in Indonesia is a bamboo nursery project that aims to empower small-scale bamboo farmers," he said, Friday, July 28.

He added that his party had committed to donating 1 million Singapore dollars as part of CSR's contribution.

"This contribution will be used in land regeneration projects and economic empowerment of local communities," said Charles.

The bamboo forest itself has an important function in land regeneration.

Within eight years after being planted with bamboo, degraded land can be fertile again so that it can be used for planting crops.

In addition, planting bamboo can also improve the quality of the soil, groundwater, and air.

The planting of bamboo is also expected to have a positive impact on the economy of the local community.

After three years of planting, the local community has been able to use the proceeds from bamboo plants as an additional source of income.

Therefore, said Charles, his party decided to support the WE-Empower and SUSS missions.

Because, both believe that philanthropy and CSR by business families can encourage innovation and help build social cohesion.

"The young generation of business families will benefit from their involvement with various social issues and community groups," he concluded.

For your information, WE-Empower is a non-profit organization that aims to empower grassroots companies or organizations by involving families of business people, philanthropy, universities, and other community groups to fight for a restorative economy and regenerative ecology.

Meanwhile, SUSS will act as a channel for applied knowledge and providers of interdisciplinary learning laboratories.

The Faculty and students will also conduct research to help WE-Empower develop innovative solutions that can be applied at the grassroots level.