PLANTATION LIFE (5) Oil Palm - Planting

 Tenegang, Lahad Datu, Sabah, MALAYSIA

Young oil palms transferred out from the nursery

and planted in the palm groves.

  Establishment of leguminous cover plants

immediately following land clearing.

  

  leguminous cover plants

Dirt road leading to our residence,

a temporary timber bungalow built on top of a hill.

The first oil palm plantation in Malaysia started in 1917 and planted on a large scale in Tennamaram Estate by M. H. Fauconnier. Soon, Alexander Guthrie founded the Guthrie stable of estates and John Middleton Sime teamed up with Henry Darby to establish the Sime Darby group of estates. (Images of plantations in the early 1900’s, here).

Today the largest Palm Oil Company in Malaysia is Synergy Drive Sdn. Bhd. which was formed after merging Golden Hope Plantations Bhd., Sime Darby Bhd. and Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. Synergy Drive Sdn. Bhd. have more than 500,000 hectares (1,300,000 acres) of Oil Palm Plantation in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is the world's biggest oil palm planter with planted area close to 900,000 hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia. Felda was formed on July 1, 1956 when the Land Development Act came into force with the main aim of eradicating poverty.

PLANTATION LIFE (4) – Oil Palm Nursery

Tenegang, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia

 Cheerful nursery workers from Sulawesi, Indonesia – Bugis Muslims.

 

 Young oil palms

Palm oil is now an important energy source widely acknowledged as a versatile and nutritious vegetable oil. Production in Malaysia has increased from only 1.3 million tonnes in 1975, through 4.1 million tonnes in 1985 and 7.8 million tonnes in 1995 to 18.2 million tonnes in 2010/11. 

Malaysia supplies 27.1% of world total palm oil and together with Indonesia, supply over one half of total trade in vegetable oils.

To those who wish to know more of the benefits from this oil and its products, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) provides real time information via their website here. 

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY - Remembering Wangari Muta Maathai

The theme for 2012 is “Green Economy:

Does it include you?”,

The UN Environment Programme defines the Green Economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.

World Environment Day (WED)

… Is celebrated every year on the 5th June to raise global awareness of the need to take positive environmental action. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) … 

Remembering Wangari Muta Maathai

 

Wangari Muta Maathai 

(1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. In the 1970s, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. 

In 1986, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, and in 2004, she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace."

In 2011, Maathai died of complications from ovarian cancer. More here.

PYTHON “IN MY CLOSET” – Plantation Life (3)

Suppose I wouldn’t be here blogging today had the python slithered in and decide to rest in my closet! 

From day one I entered the jungle/plantation snakes~~ snakes~~ snakes ~~~~~~~~~~~~:>~ kept playing on my mind and our gardener found this behind the kitchen! I did not see how Haji Supardi caught the snake as I was hiding inside the house - of fright!

 

Later they assured me it was okay to come down (eeekkk they wanted me to get some pictures) so I braved myself and got these shots.

  

 

The python was still alive, somewhat in a dazed state; Haji Supardi is an expert snake catcher. 

 
They later released the python in the forest reserve away from the plantation.

What amazed me was how cool these people handled this reptile, eeekkk (squirming all over inside) so damn cool.

 

My kids grew up in this kind of environment, today all of them are avid animal lovers – zoos and pet shops are their favourite choice of visits since they were small. (Photo: with snake handler at Taiping Zoo, Malaysia).

(Photo: Crocodile farm Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia)