Bali, Indonesia – Terratai is proud to announce its investment in Sinar Hijau Ventures (SHV), a women-led social enterprise in Maluku that works with local communities to build sustainable village economies through forest-based spices such as nutmeg, vanilla, kenari, and cloves. SHV fosters opportunities for both men and women to take on important roles within the operation, with an emphasis on strengthening the contribution of women in the value chain.
Maluku, historically known as the Spice Islands, is one of Indonesia’s most biodiverse regions. Its tropical forests provide ideal growing conditions for some of the world’s most valuable spices, yet limited market access and a lack of support to develop proper post-harvest practices have kept farmer incomes low and inconsistent. This situation has pushed many communities to seek income from extractive or short-term activities such as small-scale timber cutting, mining, or shifting to non-farm sectors. As a result, forests and coral reefs – Maluku’s critical natural infrastructure – face increasing pressure, while younger generations are often discouraged from staying in agriculture, weakening both forest stewardship and traditional knowledge.
SHV is pioneering a different path. By partnering with 11 farmer groups across seven villages in West Seram, SHV supports more than 700 farmers, collectively managing around 13,000 hectares under Social Forestry permits – a governance model in Indonesia that grants local communities rights to sustainably manage forest resources. These groups cover approximately 2,900 households in the participating villages. SHV’s model ultimately aims to help protect and sustainably manage around 30,000 hectares on Seram Island, representing about half of the total Social Forestry area on the island, with the remaining 10,000 hectares located in Halmahera and Ternate.
By connecting farmers directly to premium buyers, establishing community-based storage and processing hubs, and strengthening cultivation and post-harvest practices, SHV ensures that the true value of Maluku’s spice heritage can be realized while keeping forests and their ecosystem services intact.
Terratai’s support for SHV, made possible through Investing in Women (IW), an initiative of the Australian Government, goes far beyond financing. As with their other investments, Terratai will take an active role to support SHV’s long term impact and commercial operations. This includes deploying targeted expertise to improve land and forest management, designing conservation-linked agreements with communities, and enhancing carbon and biodiversity assessments.
“We believe that Indonesia’s Social Forestry Program plays a vital role in supporting local communities to sustainably manage their forest resources. SHV’s business model offers a rare opportunity to build on this initiative to drive finance to the forest stewards on the front lines of conservation – demonstrating the real economic value of keeping these critically important forests standing,” said Matt Leggett, Founder and CEO of Terratai.
Dessi Yuliana, Founder of PT Sinar Hijau Ventures, shared her vision for the collaboration: “This partnership with Terratai is a big step forward for Sinar Hijau Ventures (SHV) and the forest farmer groups we serve. Together, we are building fair market access while enabling communities to conserve their forests, improve harvest quality, and benefit from SHV’s local hubs. This collaboration demonstrates that forest protection and livelihood improvement go hand in hand.”
“Sinar Hijau Ventures demonstrates the kind of leadership women entrepreneurs can bring to building fairer, more sustainable economies for farmers in eastern Indonesia. We are proud our partnership with Terratai will be supporting SHV as they work to strengthen rural livelihoods and support community-led forest protection.” said Hannah Birdsey, CEO of Investing in Women.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Dessi Yuliana
Chief Executive Officer – Sinar Hijau Ventures
dessi@sinarhijau.ventures
+62 812-8295-418
Naimmah Nur Aini
Communication & Engagement Officer – Terratai
naimmah@terratai.com
+62 856 414 88 333
About Sinar Hijau Ventures:
Founded in 2021, Sinar Hijau Ventures is a women-led social enterprise from Maluku that works with local and Indigenous communities to build a sustainable spice economy rooted in social forestry. By sourcing nutmeg, vanilla, kenari, and cloves directly from community-managed forests, SHV connects farmers to fair markets and strengthens cultivation and post-harvest practices. In doing so, SHV creates resilient livelihoods while ensuring that forests remain standing and Maluku’s spice heritage continues to thrive.
About Terratai:
Terratai is Asia’s first venture builder for nature, focused on early-stage businesses delivering nature-based solutions. Established with the aim of addressing the shortfall in early-stage funding for nature-centric enterprises, Terratai is dedicated to amplifying and expanding impactful endeavours that tackle systemic hurdles within the realms of biodiversity loss. The organization offers impact orientated businesses support by providing financial solutions, NBS technical expertise and business development.
About Investing in Women:
Investing in Women (IW) is an initiative of the Australian government focused on advancing the economic empowerment of women in Southeast Asia. By promoting equal opportunities in the private sector, this initiative aims to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Our goal is to support women in thriving in the workplace and achieving success in their businesses.