Bringing Tanoto Scholars to Understand the Industrial and Professional Worlds

Tanoto Foundation held its yearly event of Tanoto Scholars Gathering at Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, 22 – 25 November 2017. The Gathering aims to provide recipients of Tanoto Foundation scholarships or Tanoto Scholars with various soft skills such as teamwork and leadership was attended by 250 participants from 21 universities.

The interesting experience gained by Tanoto Scholars in the 2017 Tanoto Scholars Gathering involved an industrial visit to the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group’s company. They were brought to visit several locations, among others: palm oil processing plant, oil palm plantation, paper-processing plant, acacia nurseries, and technology development center.

The Tanoto Scholars’ first visit was to an oil palm plantation managed by Asian Agri in the Buatan area, Kecamatan Pangkalan Kerinci, Kabupaten Pelalawan, Riau. The scholars obtained important lessons such as environmental-friendly and sustainable palm oil plantation management, which involves among others the use natural predators such as owls to eradicate rat pests.

Participants were then brought to visit PT Inti Indosawit Subur’s factory. In this palm oil processing plant, Tanoto Scholars were able to gain knowledge on palm oil processing from palm kernels into crude palm oil which is further processed into ready-made products. Tanoto Scholars were also able to gain knowledge on the distribution of palm oil products exported to several countries in the world.

During their visit to Kerinci Central Nursery owned by the APRIL group, Tanoto Scholars learned about industrial forest tree breeding using state-of-the-art technology. This nursery produces quality acacia tree seedlings that can grow optimally and be harvested in a short time.

From the nursery, the participants were brought to the paper processing factory and its packing process. The use of advanced technology in the factory was a new experience for the participants.

The Tanoto Scholars also had an opportunity to visit the APRIL group’s community development activities related to Rumah Batik Andalan and the implementation of Integrated Agricultural System program. Here, they learned about community empowerment programs that are supported by the company.