A glut of coconut?
How about producing high quality coconut oil at home in 11/2 hours? Dan Etherington, an Australian agricultural economist, has developed Direct Micro Expelling (DME), a process using a cold pressing unit for making virgin coconut oil. More than 70 units are now operational in ACP States. Whilst working in Mozambique in 1992, Etherington was asked by a village soap maker to come up with a method of producing oil directly from his community s coconuts. Etherington later discovered that the people of a Tuvalu island had long ago developed a way of cold pressing from sun dried coconuts. He refined the technology to make it suitable for all weather conditions and units are now marketed through the Kokonut Pacific company. One unit is in Samoa, where the Women in Business Foundation has supported and monitored a DME programme for some years. Nine families have been given a DME unit and family members have been trained to operate it. The two best sites currently produce 200 litres of coconut oil a week. Value-added products include soap, insect repellent and cooking oils. The residue goes for baking and livestock feed. Experience shows that operating a DME unit requires 3 to 5 persons and functions best if vested in a family rather than a communal setting. Each DME kit costs US$3,100 (E 3,260) and consists of a press, electric graters, various accessories and a detailed trainer s manual. Building material for a shed and a solar drier for the copra is also available for about US$ 1,200 (E 1,260). Shipping of the equipment, which weighs around 60 kg, is not included. Kokonut Pacific Pty Ltd PO Box 88, Hawker, ACT 2614, Australia Fax: +61 2 6255 2651 Email: dan@kokonutpacific.com.au Website: www.kokonutpacific.com.au Women in Business Foundation WIBF PO Box 720, Apia Samoa Fax: +685 219 59 Email: adi@samoa.ws Oil processing B Axtell, E Kocken & R Sandhu, IT Publications. 1993. 48 pp. ISBN 1 85339 134 4 CTA number 537. 10 credit points
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2000
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/46853 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99590 |
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