Herakles Farms facts for kids

Herakles Farms, once known as SG Sustainable Oils, is an American company. It works with oil palm trees and the timber business. Its main office is in New York City. The company says it tries to be good for the environment.

Herakles Farms in Cameroon

Herakles Farms started working in Cameroon in 2009. Its branch in Cameroon, called Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon (SGSOC), was given permission to use a very large area of rainforest. This area was about 73,000 hectares, which is like 180,000 football fields! The plan was to clear this rainforest to plant oil palm trees.

However, the government of Cameroon stopped this plan in May 2013. Herakles Farms had said it would invest a lot of money (300 billion francs CFA) and help make life better for the local people. But many more local people were against the project than for it.

There were also disagreements. Some people in the company were accused of trying to unfairly influence local leaders and activists, like Nasako Besingi. In January 2014, a court in Limbe, Cameroon ordered Herakles to pay a fine because of unfair treatment towards some people.

Protecting Wildlife

The rainforest area mentioned is home to important animals. These include the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee and the drill. Both of these animals are endangered, meaning they are at risk of disappearing forever. Protecting their habitat (their natural home) is very important.