Offering Seats at the Table: PT KGP’s efforts to Elevate the Livelihood in Rangkung and Batu Payung Dua, West Kalimantan

Recently, the palm oil industry eagerly promotes the positive impacts of palm oil companies on local livelihoods. However, the extent of how the companies affecting locals, especially the villagers living around palm oil companies, warrants deeper investigation. This study explored the economic impacts of a palm oil PT KGP located in two villages of West Kalimantan, namely Rangkung and Batu Payung Dua. We interviewed locals directly affected by the company using snowball techniques and convenience sampling as there was no prior information on the company’s relationship with the locals. The interviews revealed that locals relied heavily on the company to sustain their livelihood. This study also unveiled that providing well-paid work by plasma scheme and hiring locals as its workers, improving infrastructure in the villages, and involving local figures in the company’s socialization programs and trainings became the keys to maintaining good relationships with locals around it. However, this study indicated further interventions to ensure sustainable community livelihood in these villages.