Winners of the 2015 CUBE Competition Receive a Field Trip to Kerinci

A group of students from Singapore’s Catholic Junior College, whose entry won at the 2015 CUBE competition, received the chance to go on a 3 day, 2 night trip to Kerinci, which is the home base of APRIL’s operations, as a reward for their winning entry and hard work.

Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL) is one of the world’s largest producers of pulp and paper, and forms a part of the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group of companies founded by philanthropist and entrepreneur Sukanto Tanoto. APRIL has been a sponsor of CUBE, organised by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), since 2014 and is a proud supporter of the program.

During the 3 day, 2 night trip, the students were able to visit the large Kerinci Central Nursery where they learnt about the initial process of making paper. This requires manually sorting through the new plants to find the top quality ones which then have to be trimmed and given very specific amounts of water to maximize their growth.

The students also had the opportunity to attend a presentation on fire prevention taught by Craig Robin Tribolet, which focused on the causes and subsequent problems of fire in Sumatra and how to prevent them. This was followed up by learning different ways and techniques of firefighting, after which they were asked to put their new skills to use by putting out a fire in a burning car in a controlled environment.

Fire Free Village Programme

APRIL launched the Fire Free Village Programme (FFVP) in 2015 as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility program, set into place for the entire RGE group of companies by RGE founder and chairman Sukanto Tanoto, which focuses on preventing fires before they start through community incentives, education, training and careful area monitoring.

Though there is no single or easy solution to the fire problems in Indonesia, FFVP believes that large amounts of forest and peatland can be saved if forest burning practises are stopped.

For more information and updates on the APRIL group and Sukanto Tanoto visit:

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