Abler Nordic is the new name of Nordic Microfinance Initiative, established in Oslo in 2008 as a public-private partnership investing in companies in Africa and Asia supporting low-income households with financial services.

As the financial inclusion field has developed over the past 15 years, Abler Nordic has evolved along with it. A focus on traditional microfinance matured into a broader approach of holistically including low-income households in the financial system through a range of services that enable people to strengthen their overall financial health and build resilience.

In Indonesia, it was understood that one, training farmers into best farm management practices without showing them the financial benefits of sustainable farming had limited impacts; and two, popularizing best farm management practices without financial support to the farmers further diminishes the positive impact.
Sanjay was invited by Abler Nordic to gather the knowledge of existing best farm management practices and that of the how institutions and cooperatives could help financially; and weave updated version of Oil Palm best management practices training modules including the best practices of replanting an Oil Palm.

In the last seven years new technologies and more integrated approaches have emerged so far as Oil Palm farming is concerned. The training sessions created in 2014 thus needed to be updated and probably redesigned so that the additions do not become an eyesore.

Sanjay was recommissioned to understand complicated technologies and techniques. Following the on-the-field research and several workshops with SNV’s local staff, Sanjay took on the task to find ways for the practical sessions and information to be delivered effectively, to illustrate the techniques, and to best fit the additional know-how into existing Flip-Files, flashcards, handouts, and other training tools.

The High Impact Training (HIT) program provides informal sector farmers with market-oriented, vocational training. Enhanced skill levels enable Oil Palm farmers to gain higher yield and greater income security and in the long run prevent degradation of forests. At the same time, they develop the know-how and contacts to capitalize on opportunities and help grow the sector, in a sustainable and pro-poor way.

In Indonesia cooperatives are legal enterprises that are jointly owned and democratically operated by its members. They are an important platform to improve farmers’ access to financing, inputs, and markets. The journey to create a cooperative, however, is a long and winding one. Very few people have that kind of knowledge, but SNV has expertise that helps them to accelerate the bureaucratic process.

Sanjay was commissioned to help structure the curriculum, input the content, and then create comprehensive training sessions and tools to enable farmers to group themselves and make cooperatives and reap the benefits of working in tandem. The purpose of this training was to provide training or facilitation guidelines for individuals, and informal groups that have an interest in building knowledge, skills, and experiences on livelihood. The training activities contained in the manual were designed to help participants develop the understanding and basic skills necessary to apply the concepts of cooperating effectively and efficiently.

It was equally important for Sanjay to first understand the concepts and practices involving building a cooperative. His previous knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting came in handy. He weaved the content in such a form that the training sessions felt like a storytelling session which every trainee could identify with. Following the on-the-field research and several workshops with SNV’s local staff, Sanjay took on the task to find ways for the practical sessions and information to be delivered effectively, to illustrate the techniques, create Flip-Files, flashcards, handouts, and other training tools.

Upon testing of these tools, first in small and then larger groups, several sessions of altering the training mechanisms and tools were conducted.

The High Impact Training (HIT) program provides informal sector farmers with market-oriented, vocational training. Enhanced skill levels enable Oil Palm farmers to gain higher yield and greater income security and in the long run prevent degradation of forests. At the same time, they develop the know-how and contacts to capitalize on opportunities and help grow the sector, in a sustainable and pro-poor way.

The HIT for Jobs and Income program was implemented in Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, and aimed to provide practical market driven training opportunities to informal workers in the Palm Oil farming sector, resulting in a virtuous circle of better qualifications and skills, a higher yield and increase in income received by these informal workers.

The main purpose of this training was to provide training or facilitation guidelines for individuals, organizations or institutions that have an interest in building knowledge, skills and experiences on livelihood. The training activities contained in the manual were designed to help participants develop the understanding and basic skills necessary in order to apply the concepts of farming effectively and efficiently.

It was equally important for these training modules to be translated into suitable media and easily comprehensible ways that effectively bring about the changes in behaviors and practices. Sanjay was commissioned to research the local culture, people and their practices, their ability (and sometimes lack thereof) to understand complicated technologies and techniques, the possibility of locally producing these media economically, and on large scales. Following the on-the-field research and several workshops with SNV’s local staff, Sanjay took on the task to find ways for the practical sessions and information to be delivered effectively, to illustrate the techniques, create Flip-Files, flashcards, handouts and other training tools.

Upon testing of these tools, first in small and then larger groups, several sessions of altering the training mechanisms and tools were conducted.

The High Impact Training (HIT) program provides informal sector farmers with market-oriented, vocational training. Enhanced skill levels enable Oil Palm farmers to gain higher yield and greater income security and in the long run prevent degradation of forests. At the same time, they develop the know-how and contacts to capitalize on opportunities and help grow the sector, in a sustainable and pro-poor way.

The HIT for Jobs and Income program was implemented in Indonesia and aimed to provide practical market driven training opportunities to informal workers in the Palm Oil farming sector, resulting in a virtuous circle of better qualifications and skills, a higher yield and increase in income received by these informal workers.

It was equally important for these training modules to be translated into suitable media and easily comprehensible ways that effectively bring about the changes in behaviors and practices. Sanjay was commissioned to research the local culture, people and their practices, their ability (and sometimes lack thereof) to understand complicated technologies and techniques, the possibility of locally producing these media economically, and on large scales. Following the on-the-field research and several workshops with SNV’s local staff, Sanjay took on the task to find ways for the practical sessions and information to be delivered effectively, to illustrate the techniques, create Flip-Files, flashcards, handouts, and other training tools.

Upon testing of these tools, first in small and then larger groups, several sessions of altering the training mechanisms and tools were conducted.