Housing and education

Hargy Oil Palms is a major employer in Papua New Guinea, with 4 852 employees, both nationals and expatriates, working across a variety of roles. To support their well-being, employees are provided with essential services including housing, electricity, clean water, and access to medical clinics at the plantation sites where they live and work. Sixteen staff housing compounds are located across these sites.

Life outside work is equally valued. Employees can enjoy recreational and social activities, such as swimming and fishing in several clear, flowing rivers; gardening in the fertile volcanic soil; or relaxing at the Hargy Senior Staff Club.

Hargy Oil Palms operates a private school to meet the educational needs of employees’ children. Bialla International Primary School (BIPS) provides classes from preparatory to grade eight for children aged four to sixteen. After primary school, students continue their education at either Kimbe International School, a privately-run senior high school operated by the International Education Agency (IEA), or a high school on Hargy Oil Palms-owned land, which was opened in 2022 to accommodate the growing number of students.

Where formal day care services are not available, SIPEF supports the construction and registration of parent-led early childhood schools as a community-based alternative. Once registered with the government, these schools become eligible for government support and provide access for children aged five to seven years, enabling both parents to work. By 2025, seven early childhood schools had been completed, all of which have been submitted for government registration.