Cashew farm brings people and profits back to rural Bali

The EBC cashew farm in Bali’s Karangasem district. Photograph: East Bali Cashews

By Jasper Fränznick and Jeanne Finestone

East Bali Cashews is improving the lives and livelihoods of women and their communities

The village of Ban in northeast Bali’s Karangasem district in Indonesia is an agricultural community that suffers from pervasive poverty. In addition to a scarcity of jobs, education levels are low among the 9,000 villagers; few achieve a high school diploma and many women do not finish primary school.

Ketut Yasa is one of the few women in her village to have finished middle school. Rarer still, she has received vocational training in cookery, her personal passion. However, in an area where cashew farming is the principal source of livelihoods and the average income is less than $2 (£1.63) per day, Yasa felt she had little choice but to work in the tourism industry.

In 2010 she moved to the resort town of Kuta, 60 miles away from her home and family, where she found a job tossing pizzas. Within 18 months, however, her father became severely ill. In spite of there being more job opportunities in the city, she decided to return home to help her family. As is all too often the case, this might have been the end of Yasa’s efforts to improve her life and that of her family.

Given its remote location and lack of skilled labour, Ban is an unlikely place to find Bali’s first large-scale cashew processing plant. But Aaron Fishman and his partners saw an opportunity to create a sustainable business, improve the lives and livelihoods of east Bali’s marginalised smallholder farming community, and realise a meaningful return on their investment. In 2012 – shortly after Yasa returned to the village – they launched East Bali Cashews (EBC). Yasa was one of the first people to join the company.

My job at EBC has given me the self-confidence and courage to try new things. Now I really believe in myself

Ketut Yasa

Today, she is the head of EBC’s kitchen operations. Holding the second highest position at the factory, Yasa has tremendous responsibility, including leading new product development and managing a team of 12 people.

“I like working for EBC because my job gives me the opportunity to follow my passion and develop my skills,” she says. “Here I’m learning so much about how to create delicious recipes. That’s what I’m really interested in.”

In the cashew sector, the majority of money is made in processing and distributing. Previously, as much as 90% of Ban’s crops – and therefore the community’s ability to reap real financial benefits – were being processed elsewhere. EBC could have set up its processing facility anywhere. Indeed, it would have made more sense from a business perspective to locate the factory in a city such as Sanur, which has greater access to infrastructure and facilities. But in Ban, Fishman and his partners saw an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Since its founding, EBC has created 350 jobs in the local community – 85% of them held by previously unemployed women.

Fishman, who is the company’s CEO, also saw the talent in Yasa. “Her ability to lead and learn quickly, as well as her attention to detail and ownership of her job makes her an essential pillar of EBC’s operations,” he says.

Yasa, now 24 years-old, lives with her husband, in-laws and 1-year-old son. She earns twice as much today as she did at her old job in Kuta and is the main provider for her family.

“My job at EBC has given me the self-confidence and courage to try new things. Now I really believe in myself,” she says, adding, “I want to have my own business one day.”

EBC joined the Business Call to Action in 2016 with a commitment to increase cashew yields from 150-300 kg/ha to 1,000 kg/ha across eastern Indonesia by 2030. The company also aims to increase the incomes of 15,000 farmer families five-fold by providing superior planting materials, improved farm practices and linkages to markets.

Content on this page is provided by Business Call to Action, and originally appeared on the The Guardian Business and the Sustainable Development Goals Hub