Digital Learning for Sustainable Change with RSPO
When an organisation works at the intersection of global supply chains, environmental protection, and smallholder farmer empowerment — it needs tools that are just as adaptable as its mission.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, has been driving transformative change in the palm oil industry since 2004. With members including farmers, environmental NGOs, retailers, and major corporations, RSPO’s goal is ambitious yet essential: to make sustainable palm oil the norm.
But how do you train thousands of smallholder trainers and programme facilitators scattered across different regions, with inconsistent access to physical classrooms or conventional training infrastructure? Simple classroom sessions weren’t going to cut it. RSPO needed a digital learning ecosystem—but not just any. It had to be flexible, robust, and aligned with how people actually learn in dynamic, real-world environments.
The Challenge of Scaling Training Across Borders
RSPO’s Smallholder Trainer Academy (STA) was created to empower trainers—those closest to the palm oil smallholders—to deliver impactful, sustainable farming education. However, traditional training methods created bottlenecks. In-person sessions were costly, slow to deploy, and difficult to standardise across different geographies.
RSPO needed a way to create engaging digital content while maintaining consistency, quality, and accessibility for users with varying levels of digital literacy. The solution also had to integrate with existing platforms to streamline operations rather than disrupt them.
Enter Pukunui.
What Pukunui Delivered
Our work with RSPO began in 2021, kicking off a multi-year collaboration based on trust, flexibility, and well-timed coffee breaks.
We started with a hosting solution, tailored specifically to handle their users and heavy content libraries while keeping the environment user-friendly. RSPO’s team was set up with:
- A fully configured instance of the latest Moodle™ software, hosted securely via our Pukunui cloud
- Plenty of storage space, accommodating videos, presentations, H5P files, interactive elements, and assignments
- Integration with webconferencing systems for seamless webinar and meeting capabilities
- Single sign-on using the Magentrix portal to unify user authentication
- Custom branded LMS to reflect RSPO’s visual identity
Beyond the technical rollout, we saw an opportunity to collaborate deeply. Together with RSPO, we converted extensive face-to-face training materials into digital modules. This spanned six core modules with dozens of sessions—everything from training skill development to program design—rich with multimedia elements like:
- Interactive videos and screencasts with voiceovers
- H5P-based course presentations, quizzes, and feedback activities
- Discussion forums and padlets for peer interaction
- Assignment tracking and planning tools
And yes, we did deliver admin and instructor training—because even the best tools are only as powerful as the people using them.
Why Moodle™ Software Was Right for This Mission
For a mission-driven organisation like RSPO, control and adaptability were non-negotiable. Moodle™ software—open-source, flexible, and globally supported—was the perfect fit. Not bound to rigid templates or licensing bottlenecks, RSPO could structure its learning in a way that echoed its own real-life programs—and localise it for regional needs.
Working with the Moodle™ software platform allowed us to build a tightly integrated e-learning space with room to scale. New plugins? No problem. Course structure evolving? We adapted. Need a new language down the road? Absolutely doable.
Perhaps most importantly: it gave RSPO ownership. They weren’t renting content on someone else’s learning platform—they were building something that belonged to them and their global team of changemakers.
Training Outcomes that Matter
After rolling out the Moodle™ site and uploading the first wave of training content, RSPO’s team saw an immediate difference in flexibility and reach. Trainers in rural areas could access the same high-quality learning as those in major cities, without waiting for workshop rosters or travel arrangements. Course evaluation showed higher engagement with the interactive sessions, and feedback flowed easily through quizzes and forums.
From a technical standpoint, regular backups, plugin updates, and responsive support meant the LMS never became a bottleneck. And crucially, RSPO wasn’t locked into any one way of working—they had total control to expand the program, add user groups, or refine the journey as new needs emerged.
Looking Ahead
This isn’t a one-and-done setup. Our partnership with RSPO extends into the future, supporting the platform year after year. With hosting renewals into 2025 and ongoing development availability, the foundation is in place for deeper engagement, wider access, and continual growth.
As RSPO continues to innovate around sustainability in the palm oil sector, they now have an LMS that’s just as future-ready as they are. If anything, this collaboration has proven one clear thing: e-learning when done right doesn’t just translate knowledge — it amplifies impact.
They’ve been agile, gracious, and visionary partners—and more than once have inspired us to think bigger than the brief.
Want to Build Learning That Works With Your Mission?
If you’re ready to build a Moodle™-based learning solution that works with your organisation’s goals (not against them), get in touch with the Pukunui team today. We help purpose-driven organisations bring their training programs to life—one project, plugin, and pilot at a time.
