Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has entered a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to create an ‘eco-tourism’ village in Indonesia.
The settlement in Soran near the Mount Merapi volcano will consist of more than 420 homes and guest accommodation.
APP, which strenuously denies claims by environmental campaigners that it is connected to deforestation and illegal logging in Indonesia, hopes the new village, and other projects like it, will tackle poverty in Indonesia which it says is the real cause of clandestine tree-cutting. Around 60 per cent of families in Soran live below the poverty line.
The project, which will take three years to complete, is the first of its kind to be established by Habitat, a non-profit body dedicated to eradicating homelessness and poverty.
Aida Greenbury, sustainability managing director at APP, said the company’s support was designed to create ‘sustainable economic opportunities’ for local people, and will include training for residents in laundry management, food preparation, and marketing.
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