As the future of the nation depends on the ability of the nation as a whole to grow and be empowered to work towards a common future, the rural settlements also need to be included into the plans if we are to achieve developed nation status.

This precipitated the need for FELDA the Worlds First and Only Successful Settler Settlement Scheme which brought over 112,000 families out of poverty into becoming more focussed on empowering their communities to succeed in the glabalised era.

They have realised the need for the settlers to develop new streams of income and not only be just dependent on the Rubber of Palm Oil produced but also to diversify into other projects like cash-crop farming, small-scale fish farming and eco-tourism to name a few.

They have thus engaged OXCEL to come out with a method to include these communities to move forward. Thus the start of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) to firstly map their assets, formulate a plan to revitalise their community and then most importantly to take action to create positive results from the asset mapping exercise.

The inaugural programme to map out the strategies for FELDA were conducted from the 29-31 of July 2009 at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The session set forth the direction that the FELDA-OXCEL ABCD programme was to take. It started with an opening address by the Director-General Datuk Ahmad Tarmizi Alias and OXCEL Advisor Dato’ Ghazali Bin Dato Yusoff. It was then followed by a full brief on the ABCD concept and how it can be implemented. The whole programme closed with a Achievers Dinner at the end of the 3-day event.