MMSGI Achieves The 2025 ISRA Award: The Lung Anai Chocolate House Program Is Real Evidence Of The Independence Of The Indigenous Dayak Kenyah Community

Photo: Doc. PT MMS Group Indonesia (MSGI)

JAKARTA - PT Multi Harapan Utama (MHU), a subsidiary of MMSGI (MS Group Indonesia), won the Silver award in the Economic Empowerment category at the Indonesia Social Responsibility Award (ISRA) 2025 which was held at The Alana Yogyakarta Hotel and Convention Center, Thursday, July 10.

This award was given for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of the Lung Anai Chocolate House, which is considered successful in encouraging the economic independence of the Dayak Kenyah indigenous people through downstreaming of the chocolate industry in Lung Anai Village, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan.

Carrying the theme "Driving Impact, Building a Sustainable Future" ISRA emphasizes cross-sectoral collaboration as the main key to sustainable impacts aimed at giving appreciation to companies that have succeeded in integrating ESG principles in business strategy and operations, encouraging the creation of measurable positive impacts for the community and the environment, as well as strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration in supporting sustainable development in Indonesia.

MMSGI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sendy Greti is committed to continuing to create solutions to improve quality of life and sustainability with responsible business practices, which involve inter-line collaboration to have a long-term positive impact.

Through MHU, we not only invest in operational activities, but also in building the future of the community. Like the Lung Anai Chocolate House which is a symbol of local economic transformation. The success of our CSR program is the result of collaboration across community parties, government, and related agencies that jointly encourage inclusive and sustainable change," he said.

By integrating the ESG principle in all business lines, he said MMSGI through MHU proves that corporate social responsibility can create long-term value, both for companies, communities, and the environment.

"We believe that CSR's success is not measured by the number of programs, but from how much it can change people's lives in real terms and build sustainable trust between the company and the surrounding community," said Sendy.

Lung Anai village, which is 92 percent of its citizens are the Dayak Kenyah indigenous people and has been designated as the Cultural Village since 2007, previously managing cocoa traditionally with low-price wet seeds. MHU designed the Chocolate House program based on the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) approaches.

By optimizing more than 100 hectares of cocoa plantations, MHU revitalizes local facilities into a downstream center for cocoa products, complete with dryers, halal-certified production machines and BPOM, as well as community education rooms.

Through this program, the company shows that economic development and preservation of local wisdom can go hand in hand, in line with 6 agendas of Sustainable Development Goals (TPB/SDGs) in particular on Goals 2 Without Starvation, Aims 5 Gender Equality, Goals 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goals 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Goals 11 City and Sustainable Settlements, Aims 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.

MHU's Division Head Mining Support and Compliance Wiwin Suhartanto said that the Lung Anai Chocolate House is proof that productive use of land can run in line with efforts to empower the economy of indigenous peoples.

"This program has opened up new business opportunities, improved residents' skills, and at the same time helped maintain environmental balance. This award motivates us to continue to strengthen our commitment to sustainability," said Wiwin.

The Lung Anai Chocolate House program was initiated by MHU in collaboration through cross-sectors with the Lalut Isau Farmers Group, Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes), and the Kutai Kartanegara Plantation Service. In addition, MHU also involved the Nusantara Madani Village Care Foundation and the Kutai Kartanegara University Faculty of Agriculture which played a role in providing assistance and training to the community in processing cocoa into packaged chocolate.

The achievement of this program is very significant, more than 100 farmers are now experiencing an increase in revenue of up to 5 times, with the selling price of fermented dry cocoa reaching IDR 1220,000-IDR 150,000/kg from the previous IDR 25,000-IDR 30,000/kg for wet seeds. In addition, 12 local women are now active as workers, reflecting the shift in the role of gender positively and increasing the standard of living for the family.

"Local cocoa seeds are processed into added value products, ranging from chocolate bars to cocoa powder so that it has an impact on increasing brown farmers' income by 5 times. In addition, women's involvement increases in chocolate trading, especially in the processing department. This chocolate program has also received appreciation from various parties including the East Kalimantan Provincial Government," continued Wiwin.

In addition to improving the quality of life of the community, this program also has a direct impact on the company's social reputation. People's positive perceptions of MHU increased from 37% to 100%, strengthening Social License to Operate (SLO). In the future, the Lung Anai Chocolate House has developed a long-term strategy that includes product diversification, marketing digitization, increasing human resource capacity, and the involvement of BUMDesa as an independent manager.

The Lung Anai Chocolate House program proves that the utilization of local commodities can be a bridge towards the economic independence of indigenous peoples. This is also a real example of how the private sector can play a strategic role in creating sustainable social transformation through an inclusive and contextual approach.

This is clear evidence that downstream local commodities can be a bridge to the economic independence of indigenous peoples and the preservation of the nation's culture, resulting in measurable and sustainable economic, social, and cultural impacts.