Community leaders attending CICOM's Capacity Building Workshop 

As an integral part of the land dispute resolution process, IOI Group (IOI) has recently completed its Community Capacity Building Programme with all nine longhouses neighbouring the IOI Pelita estates located in the Tinjar area of Sarawak. The programme was designed by IOI but it was conducted by the Community’s Information & Communication Centre (CICOM), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), in collaboration with Grassroots, who is IOI’s lead advisor in the resolution process.

The programme was launched on 19 February 2019 and it involved an introductory workshop, field visits to the longhouses, and meetings with community leaders. The programme culminated on 27 and 28 May 2019 when all community leaders or Ketua Kaum (Village Heads) attended a two-day workshop held in Grand Palace Hotel, Miri.

The main purpose of the workshop was to enhance the communities’ understanding of the resolution process and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards which are guiding this process. Any gaps in knowledge or understanding, which had been identified in the course of the previous activities, were addressed by the CICOM’s experts during the workshop.

The completion of the Community Capacity Building Programme is an important milestone for IOI and all stakeholders. It will allow IOI to move on to the next stage of the conflict resolution process, which is Community Participatory Mapping.

IOI remains determined to bring the dispute to a closure that would be long-lasting and fair to all parties involved.