Dec 2018 - Visit to the Sime Darby Palm Oil Plantation

An excursion to the Sime Darby Plantation in December organized by the MCG was definitely a unique experience. Located about an hour and a half out of Kuala Lumpur by bus was surely an answer to the many questions we all had from our various travels throughout Malaysia. What are those Green trees that look so beautiful in the distance? Could it be a Coconut Grove, Date Plantation or something else? Well surprise, surprise its non-other than the faster growing industry in Malaysia OIL PALM TREES.

SDP is a privately owned, well managed and environmentally conscious organisation.Their aim is to provide a sustainable industry whilst protecting the environment with low amounts of Bio degradable waste, with the FUTURE in mind. But WHY Oil Palm? Well, it is said that this ornamental plant was brought into the country from Guinea, Africa by the Dutch and French travellers over 100 years ago. A quick growing commodity with a gestation period of about five months, this orangey brown fruit cluster weighing over 20 kilos is harvested manually. A product high in vitamin E, cholesterol free, good antioxidants, and low in trans-fat was surely something to think about.

So,a shrewd French Entrepreneur took the initiative and planted the first Oil Palm tree in Selangor, Malaysia, purely for Commercial use and ‘Voila’!! Today, we now learn by our visit to the Estate that a wide range of daily products used has some percentage of the OIL PALM tree.Be it cooking, energy, cosmetics, emollients and the list goes on.

Review by Christabel Scroggie