Social Impact

Education

Scellec Teca has established a partnership with the Sociology Department of the University of St Tomas, the oldest university in Colombia. Our external relations manager liaises with experienced rural social development professors who work with our communities to train community nominees in designing and implementing community environmental programs that will benefit the communities and can be managed by the communities sustainably.

Members of Monterrubio and Pueblito de los Barrios receive their certification from the University of Santo Tomas and Scellec. October 2023.

Community Support & Engagement

As part of our land evaluation process, Scellec Teca establishes primary contact with local governments and other community leaders to both establish cooperative relationships and to identify community focussed initiatives that Scellec Teca can support, or problems that we can work with the local community to solve.

Our community engagement plan also establishes processes for conflict resolution and agrees two-way communication channels to enable the communities to raise concerns and ask questions. One local community initiative this year saw Scellec Teca working with the local community of Loma Verde and the students of the San Jose de Loma Verde school to deliver 23 kilos of recyclable material to the Colombian Recyclers' association of Monteria.

Students of the San José de Loma Verde school during the school football tournament with the team jersey uniforms (they chose!) donated by Scellec. Equipment for the team and for the communal football pitch were also donated by Scellec.

In addition:

  • 30 leaders were trained in how to set up community projects through the Santo Tomás University

  • 4 community projects were set up to benefit the entire community of each township

  • 4 working groups were established that, with Scellec's External Relations Management, will be responsible for the implementation of each project.

The chosen projects address socio-cultural and environmental problems and have the following objectives:

  • Caraballo: Improve the villagers' quality of life by improving the roads in the village centre, and support reforestation with fruit trees and native trees.

  • Paraíso: Improve the quality of education and well-being of local children through improved infrastructure and sanitation for the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes school, a school that provides primary education to families living in the town centre and surrounding farms.

  • Monterrubio: Strengthen local cultural practices, traditions, education and productivity of the whole community, young and old, through the creation of a house of culture.

  • Pueblito de los barrios: Improve young people’s wellbeing and empower local women through the creation of a cultural centre with a gender focus.

The above projects meet the following UN Sustainable Development Goals

Health and Wellbeing

The health and wellbeing of the people in the local communities where we operate, is of paramount importance. Many of these communities live too far away from urban centres to be able to access medical care. We work together with local community leaders to prioritise and fund needs where we can make a real and valuable difference. Some of the projects undertaken in 2023 include:

  • Establishing a medical clinic in Caraballo which provides basic health care focused on promoting health, and preventing and monitoring disease.

  • Constructing a rainwater collection system to the bathroom facilities at the medical clinic.

  • Fencing off the communal water well to prevent animals entering and contaminating the water.

  • Educational notices to reduce / prevent littering.

Employment

Because our plantations are located in areas of traditionally high employment, over 90% in some areas, Scellec Teca has a significant and lasting impact in this area.

In 2023, over 300 new jobs were created during the planting season, which lasts for between 4 and 6 months of the year. Over 20 permanent full-time jobs have also been created in our offices in Monteria.

These jobs contribute to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals

We also comply with FSC Principle 2 "Workers' Rights and Conditions of Employment" and Criterion 4.3: "The organisation shall provide employment opportunities, training, and other services to local communities."

The employment generated by Scellec Teca improves the quality of life of workers, their families, and the communities they belong to, as well as to their sense of security, inclusion, and future opportunities.

Our training and educational programmes have increased the organisational skillset among community leaders, which also contributes to the wellbeing of the community. Scellec Teca has become a catalyst for change, for improvement, and is having a concrete impact on education, employability, and the general well-being of the inhabitants of the surrounding communities.

A number of social impact programmes are already in train for 2024.