Palm oil and its associated livelihood impacts on smallholders are examined across four regions in Indonesia: Bungo of Central Sumatra, Sanggau of West Kalimantan, Northern Barito of Central Kalimantan, and Malinau of East Kalimantan. The authors interviewed locals and conducted economic analyses to reach their results. In all areas, they found that the people were very eager for economic development but have very limited opportunities. The desire is so extreme that it was not uncommon for villages to compete for the attention of loggers, coal miners, and palm oil developers. Among those interviewed, palm oil is widely seen as the most viable economic option for their land, and most farmers see palm oil as a passive income to supplement their other sources and will give their fallow or least desirable lands to the companies. The authors found that although the development schemes were similar across regions (NES style), the outcomes could be vastly different. Many farmers in the Kalimantan region did not experience the economic benefits of those in Bungo. This mainly depended upon how the farmers decide to use their land. Some farmers in Kalimantan sold their land outright, leaving little source of agricultural income, while others participated in the smallholding venture, only to sell their land prior to the oil palm crops reaching production (3 years). High start up costs, which manifests as debt to a bank, were often cited as the reason to selling the land. The authors contend that this complaint was only heard from smallholders during the first years due to the crops not having reached maturity, and after this, the debt will eventually be repaid from the monthly allocations of profit. Additionally, palm oil is desirable for its low labor costs. Harvest of palm oil requires 2 days of labor per month, compared to 14 days of labor for rubber. According to the authors’ research, palm oil is found to be a source of significant improvement to the livelihoods of rural communities, offering greater returns to labor and reducing poverty (with less than 10% of people in palm oil communities being poor). They suggest that palm oil is a great economic opportunity for the short term, although long term effects may be uncertain.