Help Transform Palm Oil Plantations into Food-Producing Rainforests to Save the Sumatran Orangutan

The Sumatran orangutan—whose name translates from Malay as "person of the forest" (orang for person and utan for forest)—shares 97% of our human DNA. Yet, these intelligent and gentle primates are facing an urgent survival crisis: the wild Sumatran orangutan population has crashed by 80% over the last 75 years, driving them toward extinction due to the ways modern humans meet our needs - utilizing global commodity production practices which result in severe habitat loss and industrial deforestation, particular the rising demand for precious palm oil most commonly sourced from the palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) which is not native to Indonesia.

Across Sumatra, native biodiverse jungles are cleared, burned, and replaced with vast, single-crop palm oil monocultures that act as virtual deserts for local wildlife. Without safe, connected forests, orangutans, and the other keystone species like Elephants and Tigers, cannot survive.

A Solution: Converting monocrop palm oil plantations to rainforests that produce abundant food for humans AND Orangutans

The Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), founded by conservationist Panut Hadisiswoyo, is pioneering a revolutionary approach at the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park: buying hectares non-native palm oil monocrop forests and converting them to restored, biodiverse rainforest ecosystems that produce abundant food for humans and Orangutans.

Rather than relying on single-crop farming, OIC works directly with local villagers to build multilayered permaculture food forests—growing crops like cacao, bananas, lemons, cassava, sweet potatoes, and coffee that mimic the multi-tiered structure of a natural jungle.

Key pillars of this project include:

• Wildlife-Permaculture Interface: OIC establishes buffer zones filled with abundant food for both wildlife and humans. This prevents hungry primates from eating farm crops, keeping orangutans safe while boosting local farmer incomes.

• Ecosystem Restoration: Just two years after removing palm oil trees and establishing permaculture, wildlife has returned—including wild orangutans, sun bears, and tigers.

• Nature School & Community Leadership: Village children attend OIC's nature school to learn sustainable agroforestry—and uniquely pay their monthly school tuition in fruit tree seedlings that are planted directly into restoration sites, providing unprecedented cost-accessibility to schooling for Indonesian families.

Proven Track Record & Impact

OIC’s dedicated teams are already making a measurable difference across Sumatra:

• 242+ Orangutans Rescued: The Human-Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) has rescued and translocated 242 Sumatran orangutans (and 10 Tapanuli orangutans) from high-conflict zones and illegal trafficking.

• 2.5+ Million Seedlings Planted: Over 2,578,000 seedlings have been planted, restoring more than 2,780 hectares of degraded rainforest in and around Gunung Leuser National Park.

• 444,000+ Hectares Protected: Forest patrol teams cover over 444,000 hectares of critical Leuser Ecosystem habitat to combat illegal forest clearing.

• 6,350+ Community Members Empowered: More than 6,350 local residents have been trained in human-orangutan conflict mitigation, organic farming, and forest conservation.

How You Can Help

To scale this successful model and protect the orangutan's remaining habitat, we are calling on compassionate supporters worldwide.

• Every $2,600 raised buys one acre (or 0.4 hectares) of palm oil plantation and converts it into a permanent, thriving permaculture rainforest.

• Reaching our $100,000 target will allow us to buy and transform nearly 38.5 acres of monoculture land, creating critical buffer zones for wild orangutans while strengthening the livelihoods of local communities.

Join the Global Movement — Watch, Share and Contribute Today!

By watching this video, you will learn about this amazing strategy to save the Sumatran Orangutan. By sharing this video with friends, you help this story ripple out further and reach the hearts and minds of potential changemakers who can fund this restorative initiative. And by donating to this campaign, you are actively proving that humans and wildlife can thrive side by side.

Every contribution makes a direct impact—wherever you are in the world. Stand with us to protect the "person of the forest" and restore Sumatra's rainforests for generations to come.