Deal #6346

No appropriate social or environmental impact assessments were done, nor was there census undertaken to identify affected people. Before land clearing there was no proper land survey and villagers were not properly consulted. Part of the land clearing took place nighttime. Villagers from the Xekatam estate (6 villages) understand that agreement signed by provincial governor with Outspan was for 150 ha land concession, and this is the area they agreed to in 2010, but not more. Area of land cleared is much more (831 ha in Xekatam). All land clearing was done during 2010, whereas the Concession Agreement was not signed before Dec 2011. Everything was agreed between the company and the government with no meaningful community engagement. OBL stated that they were provided with details of village consultation undertaken by the government and agreements were signed/ stamped by village authorities. [Source: VFI]

The reason there was a farmers' protests was becasue the company expanded its coffee plantation to 1,100 hectares, destroying more than 140 hectares of productive village lands. After repeated protests, the villagers were told early in 2012 that they were free to move somewhere else, an offer repeated in mid-May by officials from the national government sent to investigate the farmers' claims. But according to the National Regulatory Authority, relocating is dangerous, since much of the area's land remains contaminated by the unexploded U.S. bombs from the secret war that continues to maim and kill villagers even today. [Source: CorpWatch]

At the end of a three-year redress process which followed the land conflict in 2010, OBL paid compensation, returned land use rights over part of the concession land (230 hectares), and provided rice to affected households. The OBL established the grievance mechanism, however, Villagers were unable to express a clear understanding as to what they should do when a grievance arises, particularly who they should talk to in either government or OBL. They did believe that District officials needed to become more involved in dispute resolution. [Source: VFI]

288 households affected over 7 villages

Villagers’ crops were partly damaged or destroyed during land clearance, including coffee, rice and bamboo. Food security and food sovereignty of villagers has significantly decreased (company provided them with emergency food aid in April 2012. During land clearing sacred forest areas were destroyed. Biodiversity has decreased, risk of soil/water contamination by use of chemicals.

So far, the company have distributed 15 tones of rice to compensate villagers in four villages - Nongmek, Nonghin, Nongtheum, Nongtouang for losing their lands and crops. Three villages of Yaisalasinh, Yaisenoi and Houaykong have not received compensation. OBL negotiated compensation rates with the communities around certain base assumptions and government set compensation rates (such as 1,200 coffee trees per hectare, for example, at 30,000 kip per tree). [Source: VFI]

The Out-grower farmer programs commenced in 2013/14 with 10 farmer groups comprising 110 families farming 497ha. By 2015/16 it had expanded to 48 groups farming 1,484ha. In 2016 OBL reports that the company will spend $200,000USD on the program. [Source: Olam Specialty Coffee & VFI]

According the 2016 case study report by VFI & MRLG stated that OBL provided donations to communities in the past 5 years of 570,000,000 kip (around $70,000USD). This includes around $12,000USD for infrastructure in 4 villages near the Xekatam Estate in the 2015. [Source: VFI]

Affected villages followed the national legal framework seeking redress at different government levels. At the end of 2013, at the end of a grievance process (with assistance from NGOs and the Land Information Working Group), the communities received back use rights over some family agricultural lands (as mapped by the District-Provincial conflict solution committee), comprising of 230 hectares, as well as compensation for cleared crops. [Source: VFI]