LMSS SPHINCTER vol.81 issue 2 SPHINCTER 3 No bleed | Page 19

with national Katie Taylor, 2nd Year Medical Student rainforest being cut down to make space for palm oil plantations. Palm oil is now found in pretty much everything, it is incredibly cheap and versatile. I am not under the impression it would be viable to cut out palm oil entirely, however I would love for more companies to make the switch to sustainable palm oil. My final placement was in a remote village in the heart of the Borneo. This was the opportunity to get the highly sought ‘picture with an impoverished child’ which would later become our Facebook profile picture (it’s a must of overseas volunteer work). supplied the solar panels, the other charity sent 3 grandmothers from the village to India to be trained how to fix the solar panels and Raleigh’s job was to build a workshop for the grannies to work in on their return. This was a plan that had been previously implemented in a couple of other villages and proven both effective and sustainable. The 6 weeks run up to my time in Sungai Magandai saw 2 Raleigh groups come in and start the building process. We were to complete the build and organise an opening ceremony for the workshop. This placement had the real feel good factor about it. We spent time in the school teaching the kids English, we would go play sport with the children in the evenings, we would dance with the locals at night. The community was truly grateful for the work we had done and to this day the workshop is still in use. What is sustainable palm oil? The village I stayed in was called Sungai Magandai. Many children from different villages would walk for hours to stay in this village for several weeks to attend a primary school. This school was the only one for miles around. Raleigh International worked with two other charities to complete the main aim of supplying this village, and in particular this school, with solar power. One of these charities Palm oil can be certified as sustainable by an organisation called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The RSPO sets out a number of social and environmental criteria that if followed correctly will minimise the negative environmental effects of palm oil whilst still enabling economical gains for the often impoverished countries that are the main suppliers. One of the main criteria is that no primary rainforest, land that is high in biodiversity or an area with a fragile ecosystem is to be cut down to make space for palm tree plantations. The RSPO accredits organisations that are sourcing certified sustainable palm oil and can the display the RSPO trademark on their packaging. Some examples of companies using responsibly sourced palm oil are Jordans and Ryvita, Primark, Nestle, Kellogg’s, L’oreal and many more. Why am I telling you this? I went to Borneo as a venturer, but it is possible to go out and do the something similar as a medic. For something a little different/ anyone interested in doing expedition medicine I would highly recommend considering a Raleigh International expedition as an option I want to educate as many people as I can about the implications of the wide spread use of irresponsibility sourced palm oil I want you to think twice about choosing a slightly more expensive product that doesn’t contain palm oil/uses sustainable palm oil over a cheaper but less ethical alternative I had a fab time and I just like talking about it