Forestwise – Yayasan Rimba Raya Abadi

Investing in Impact

P4G awarded the partnership US $455,000 in grant funding. 

Global demand for cocoa butter equivalents is growing due to the need for more sustainable, reliable, and traceable alternatives, especially in response to market volatility and supply chain concerns in some cocoa-producing regions. 

Illipe butter is a cocoa butter equivalent with a neutral color and scent, a higher melting point and rich moisturizing properties. This makes it ideal for personal care and cosmetic products such as soaps, lip balms and lotions. In the food industry, illipe butter can be used in confectionery products like chocolate bars, nutrition bars and ice cream. 

Forestwise sustains the rainforests of Borneo by producing products that grow and wild harvested in the rainforest such as illipe butter. By creating value in sustainable forest grown products, it’s making it more profitable to conserve the forest rather than cut it down. This is a priority for Indonesia with the Sintang, West Kalimantan region already experiencing 77% tree cover loss from 2013 to 2021. 

Forestwise harvests and processes illipe nuts that grow in the rainforests of West Kalimantan. The nuts are wild harvested, which means they are collected when they fall from the tree, by the native Dayak community. They are processed in a local Forestwise facility and further refined to produce RBD (Refined, Bleached, and Decolorised) illipe butter. Forestwise products are fully certified including FFL, EU Organic, USDA Organic, COSMOS, and Halal. They are now in the process of obtaining FSSC 22000 and B-Corps certification. 

Forestwise enters long-term supply contracts with farmers to provide them with stable incomes. The startup has developed training modules tailored for local farmers and has increased the agroforestry and financial literacy knowledge of more than 1800 farmers across 99 villages in the region. 

The business aims to register 1,800 farmers on its traceability app to ensure full traceability across its supply chain. The app is currently functional, and the startup is working on integrating the information from the app with a dashboard that can share farmer stories and traceability data with buyers. 

Forestwise currently sells 43 tons of RBD illipe butter and 44 tons of crude illipe butter and has established relationships with 14 buyers. The startup aims to scale that to 120 and 250 tons respectively over the next two years and find seven new buyers. As part of its scaling process, Forestwise is focused on building a robust supply chain and has registered more than 800 farmers as suppliers. The startup procured more than 350 tons of nuts in 2024 and 247 tons of nuts in 2025. The business also formed strategic partnerships with nonprofits in the region with a focus on sustainable agroforestry in at-risk forest landscapes. As part of its scale-up strategy, the company aims to diversify its product portfolio beyond illipe, such as rubber and arenga, to provide farmers with more stable income and improved yields while waiting for the illipe harvest season. 

International certifications are another component of unlocking broader market opportunities. Forestwise has FFL, Halal, Kosher, Cosmos, and Organic certifications, and is currently pursuing B Corp certification and expanding its existing certifications including, FSSC 22000 and others. 

Forestwise has an existing formal collaboration with the Department of Environment and Forestry at the provincial level to align forest management activities and establish shared accountability for land use. Forestwise also worked with IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative) to explore the benefits of a diverse vs. monocultural rainforest and carbon credit opportunities. The study showed that maintaining diverse rainforest ecosystems generates higher long-term benefits for conservation, biodiversity and socio-economic welfare of local communities. In relation to the study findings, Forestwise disseminated the results through a national-level seminar, convening local, district, provincial, and national stakeholders, including relevant government agencies. 

Forestwise is also in discussion with potential buyers on using illipe waste for farm feed. To prevent organic waste from going to landfill, the startup repurposes its illipe and kukui nut waste for other productive purposes such as biochar, farm feed and mushroom farming. 

During the P4G funding period, Forestwise is exploring diversifying into different markets including cosmetic, food and natural latex. As part of this strategy, Forestwise is reaching out to tire manufacturers to advance its entry into the natural rubber market. While illipe butter continues to be its best-selling product, demand is growing for Kukui nut oil. 

Forestwise has put together two knowledge partnerships sharing best practices and challenges from cultivating, managing and processing products such as Arenga sugar and natural rubber. 

Yayasan Rimba Raya Abadi has a deep understanding of the local community and farmers employed by Forestwise. The nonprofit supports Forestwise in training farmers and developing knowledge product to help them understand their land ownership rights. A land ownership assessment study completed in 2025 showed that in the collection villages of Langan and Gurung Mali communities are becoming more capable of managing their forests sustainably. 

By 2025, Forestwise aims to raise about US $1 million in investment, reduce more than 340,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, create almost 50 jobs, and empower 1800 farmers with greater climate resilience solutions. It also aims to preserve 100,000 hectares of rainforest by 2026. The partnership has created more than 1,100 new jobs, trained more than 1,800 farmers and brought 200,000 hectares of forest under responsible management practices. 

The partnership comprises the following partners: Forestwise (lead business partner); Yayasan Rimba Raya Abadi (lead administrative partner).