BASF and The Estée Lauder Companies have partnered with the civil society organisation Solidaridad Network to provide COVID-19 hygiene kits to more than 1,000 smallholder farmers and their families in the Way Kanan District in Lampung, Indonesia.
Given out to approximately 3,000 people, the COVID-19 hygiene kits included face masks, soap, hand sanitiser and an information leaflet. Additionally, informative banners detailing COVID-19 preventative measures were placed in each of Way Kanan’s seven sub-districts.
Farmers Association KTNA, Business Watch Indonesia and Farmer Group leaders helped safely distribute the kits via drop-off points and by going door-to-door to farmers. “The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down for a lot of people around the globe,” said Daniele Piergentili, Vice President, Home and Personal Care at BASF in North America. “Aside from donating hand sanitising gel globally, we supported the community of Indonesian smallholder farmers to help ensure their health and safety. We are grateful to our partners The Estée Lauder Companies and Solidaridad Network for this collaboration.”
“As a global company driven by deeply rooted values, we are committed to supporting our long-standing partners and their communities to stay safe and healthy,” said Greg Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. “The Estée Lauder Companies is proud to partner with BASF to support Solidaridad Network’s vital COVID-19 relief efforts, which help to protect Indonesian smallholder farmers and their families from the impact of the pandemic.”
Project Lampung, a collaborative sustainability project launched by Solidaridad Network, BASF, The Estée Lauder Companies and The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) at the end of 2018, is an ongoing initiative that aims to promote sustainable palm oil and palm derivatives production. The project supports 1,000 independent Indonesian smallholder farmers with the goal of improving their livelihoods and their sustainable production of palm oil and palm kernel oil. It offers continuous education and technical support on implementing and maintaining sustainable palm oil practices.
The project’s target is to have at least one-third of the supported smallholder farmers become certified according to the Smallholder Standard of RSPO after three years. The project partners are collaborating with the Indonesian government to foster a sustainable palm oil production supply chain in Lampung that does not contribute to deforestation and is competitive in the global market, while increasing the social and economic benefits for farmers.
