Rukaiyah Rafik

Advisor, Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati

Born into an oil palm growers’ family, Rukaiyah Rafik has always had a close connection to palm oil. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Environmental Science at Universitas Jambi, she dedicated much of her life to the world of sustainable palm oil.

Rukaiyah started her career as an investigator and researcher in a large-scale palm oil plantation programme in Jambi, Indonesia in 2001-2003, then moved on to become a programme staffer in WALHI (Indonesian Forum for the Environment), Jambi (2001-2003). She then became a corporate campaigner for Sawit Watch (2003-2005), Programme Manager at Yayasan Keadilan Rakyat (2006-2007), and Director of Yayasan Setara Jambi (2007-2017). Currently, she is an Advisory Member of Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati (2009-present) and is still active as the Principal of the Farmers School of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers Forum Foundation (Yayasan FORTASBI Indonesia) as well as was a member of Curriculum Development Committee for the of the RSPO Smallholder Trainer Academy (2017-2019). Rukaiyah is still active as a spokesperson for national and international forums, where she introduces and shares positive stories related to the sustainable management of palm oil commodities. Mrs. Rukaiyah Rafik has also published several articles, such as “Biofuel Innovation” (2009); AGATA Analisa Gaya Sengketa ”Manual for Conflict Resolution” in collaboration with Gamal Pasya, Martua Sirait (2014); Manual Book for Independent Smallholders on How to Get RSPO Certification (2017); Imbalance Nutrition in Smallholders Plantation in Indonesia (SpringerLink Mei 2018); and the Smallholders Academy Guideline (2019).

Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati is a smallholders group in the Merangin District, Jambi Province which has been RSPO certified since 2014. The group counts 566 members and has a total land area of 762 ha.

Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati has succeeded in achieving two cycles of RSPO certification.