Enabling Landscapes: INTERHOLCO's Sustainability Report 2017

Training hours. 2016 data. Scope: IFO, IHC and LCC
Adding value: indigenous employees and forest prospection
31 employees from indigenous communities
work at IFO, mostly in the Forest Prospection
team, which allows them to stay in the forest
several weeks in a row. The indigenous
employees may then take along their family
members if they choose to do so.
The indigenous and non-indigenous employees
share their respective knowledge, e.g. nonindigenous
employees train the former to take
notes and use GPS coordinates, while
indigenous employees train the latter with
useful guidance on forest herbs and tree
species. This knowledge sharing process is
mutually beneficial.
Mr. Fulgence OPENDZOBE supervises the work
of the Forest Prospection team, ensuring that
each tree with an important value for the local
and indigenous communities is correctly
represented in accurate forest maps, especially
those referring to the annual harvesting area.
Mr. Opendzobe’s parents come
from Lango and Ibonga, two of the
villages neighbouring IFO. He is
able to visually distinguish several
of hundred tree species in the thick
forest. He lives in the IFO camp
with wife Julia Beh and their four
children: Tom Van Gloire Opendzobe,
Geni Préval Opendzobe,
Esther Benicia Opendzobe Maleka
and Royal Opendzobe Madiba.
41 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2017 INTERHOLCO