First Academy Master Training in Medan

The first RSPO Smallholder Trainer Academy Master Training took place from August 26 until 31, 2019 in PT Musim Mas KIM 2, Medan, indonesia. Organised by the RSPO Smallholder Trainer Academy, the venue and local transportation were kindly sponsored by Musim Mas.

Twenty-one participants from different Academy Partner organisations attended the Master Training in order to be trained to become Academy Master Trainers. During the six-day training, the participants were introduced to the new Academy training guides and active learning and adult learning training methodologies, geared towards more effective training of smallholders towards their sustainable livelihoods.

The organisations that were represented at the Master Training were Forever Sabah, FORTASBI, GIZ Thailand, Musim Mas, the P&G Center for Sustainable Small-owners, a joint venture of Proctor & Gamble and the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI), Solidaridad Colombia, and Wild Asia.  

The Master Training, facilitated by Aflatoun International's Kelly Wilson and Bram Stoffele was characterised by highly interactive activities and group demonstrations by participants using the many different training sessions from the Academy Training Guides. The focus of the Master Training was not just on enabling participants to give effective trainings to smallholders and group organisers/managers directly, but also on being able to train other trainers effectively. The training format supported constant engagement with the training materials as well as constant practice and group engagement, all of which are central elements in the actual training delivery to smallholders and group organisers.

The Master Training included one field trip to a certified smallholder plantation, accompanied by an expert agronomist, Mr Mohanraj. The field trip offered an opportunity to dive deeper into agronomic issues relevant to smallholders, but also offered the opportunity for the participants to run practice training sessions with each other. 

Seventeen of the twenty-one participants completed the full 6 days of training and are now officially Academy Master Trainers. As the pioneering Master Trainers, the Academy will work together with them in the coming months and years to grow their training networks and further build their capacity for more effective training of smallholders.