Indonesia leads the world in palm oil production and the Bungo district of Sumatra has been one of the most successful areas for oil palm cultivation. These authors examine why Indonesia farmers in this region prefer working with oil palm by looking at social, political, and economic factors. There are conflicting opinions on palm oil, and there have been many social conflicts between palm oil plantations and the workers. However, these conflicts usually do not involve rejecting palm oil, but rather differences between the company and its workers, such as unfulfilled promises or unfair profit sharing. The palm oil industry operates under a Nucleus Estates and Shareholders type scheme, in which farmers cede their land to the company in exchange for partial ownership of the plantation. The company owns a refinery and a majority of the land, called the Nucleus, which is surrounded by lands owned by smallholders, called the Plasma, which generally consists of 30%-40% of the plantation. The smallholders form the plasma cooperative, and a leader is elected among them to represent their interests to the company. By “investing” in the company with their land, these smallholders gain access to a share of the profits from each harvest, much desired technical help, and better seeds and seedlings. Additionally, their land is developed, with a loan from a bank, into a plantation, and a portion of their monthly profits partitioned toward paying off the loan. Once their loan is paid off, the smallholders will enjoy the full benefits of their portion of the plantation, generally two hectares. The authors believe that the government supported NES type system is, on-paper, very fair and, when put into practice correctly, can greatly benefit a community and improve their livelihoods. Poor village farmers or transmigrants understand this and see it as an opportunity to pave a better life for themselves and their family. I think this research was done well and fairly, as they examined both successful and failed cooperatives.