ACA FINDS HIS LINK TO THE TREE OF LIFE
“1eYer be ashamed of the work you do, as long as it puts food on the table, and proYides for the welfare of your family.” 7his sentiment is what driYes Mr. Aca 6alabiau as he hustles for his young family. +is hustle being the production of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). Although he is relatiYely new to producing VCO, that has done little to deter him from achieYing his short and long term goals. Ironically, he took up VCO production following a training held at his Yillage of .iuYa, %au in 7aileYu for the Yillage·s women·s group in , aimed at eleYating and fostering sustainable liYelihoods for its core participants. “I am a man, and this process of VCO production is often thought to only be for women, but I took a particular interest in it, my wife would often growl at me but I found my passion in it and I knew I could do it,” he said. “I sat in during the training, and I was fascinated at how easily we could make a liYing out of what surrounded us, especially coconuts,” said Mr. 6alabiau. With his interest piqued and a will of stone, Aca was adamant to try his hand at VCO processing by putting all that he·d learnt during the training to good use, totally disregarding any negatiYe criticism that would come of it. “I saw women doing it and marYeled at the transformation, the outcome of the whole process, nothing is left out,” said the father of two. “When I first started, it was more of a practical, I would follow what I had learnt and reYiew the progress and by this practical, it also allowed me room to know what I was lacking and what I needed to do to produce the perfect VCO,” he shared. 'uring the early stages of his production, his VCO was used solely for sampling purposes, and he·d receiYe mixed reYiews and was subMected to critique from those closest to him, but he did not falter. “My wife, at one stage, was upset as I was dedicated to something that was not generating income but I had faith that one day, luck would come my way,” he said. “(Yeryday I would collect coconuts and follow the process of VCO until I heard oYer the radio the assistance proYided by the Ministry of Agriculture on VCO,” he said. “I contacted former 3rincipal Agriculture Officer (Central) Ms. 7epola 6eniloli to enquire about the assistance and it coincided with the Agriculture 6how that was being held in 1ausori,” he recalled. “8pon the adYice of the then 3AO I took my product to the show for display and it was there that I met my buyer, Mr. 3omani 7araiYosa who motiYated me to continue my passion,” he said. “7hat·s when I truly belieYed that when you do something wholeheartedly, there is always a reward.” After discussions the duo drew up an agreement for Mr. 6alabiau to supply liters eYery Mondays and 7hursdays to the 6uYa market. “7his process requires concentration and dedication as it can go wrong when you miss a step and it is essential that all the steps are followed,” he said. 7he )iMian idiom “Yinaka Yaka niu” is also what he liYes by as he uses eYery part of the coconut for Yalue adding “1othing is left out, VCO requires the flesh, and the other parts are used for producing other materials within and around the house,” he said. “Once the flesh is extracted, I then use the husk to fuel the fire, the shell is used for charcoal replacement and handicrafts and the coconut water is used for drinking which is high in Yitamin %, proteins and ascorbic acid which is also a treatment for sunstroke, stomach ache and urinary problems,” said Aca. “7here are other uses of the other parts of the coconut tree, nothing is left out, from the leaYes, the midribs, the palmis, the spathe and inflorescence, the trunk right to the roots. In Aca was amongst a few participants who attended a training on Virgin Coconut Oil at the Mua 5esearch 6tation in 7aYeuni. As the sole indiYidual engaged in this trade in the Yillage, his day starts with the scraping of coconuts and ends by midday and because he uses the traditional VCO processing, he needs to manually squeeze the grated coconut to extract the coconut milk. +is commitment bore fruition in as he was assisted by the Ministry of Agriculture with a VCO processing shed inclusiYe of an electrical coconut scraper. “7he production increased from ó liters ( dozen coconuts) to liters ( dozens for big coconuts and dozens for small coconuts) when the electrical coconut scraper came in,” he said. “Apart from the electric scraper, all the others are done manually and the process is all done at home from husking to extractions to filtering.” “After husking, cracking and scraping (the finer you shred the more the milk), comes the extraction of the creamy milk with hands using lukewarm water,” explained Aca. “It is then collected into a white bucket with a blanket to coYer it for hours, after the hours there will be four layers curdled, separating VCO from the rest,” he said. 7he top and third layer consists of sinusinu which will then be heated after a week of collection for traditional coconut oil whilst the second layer consists of VCO and the last layer of Yinegar which can be used days afterwards with added salt in meals and food preserYations. “7he curdled Yirgin coconut oil is then skimmed off, filtered and sunned for another week before it is bottled and ready for the market,” he continued. “)rom what we are producing, VCO is per liter for the big bottles and per liter for sinusinu and in a week we can earn approximately ,” he said. %eing a man in a predominantly woman led trade, Aca has set out plans to expand his business, and be a Yessel of change in his community. “I am planning to plant more coconuts and hybrid coconuts for my business for the next years as I would loYe to see it rolling,” he said. “7he market sometimes drops because there are other VCO processors from the islands and around the country but that will always be the challenge that we face and the only way is to keep going,” he said. “I challenge you all, that men can also do a woman·s Mob and Yice Yersa, but like I said, if it·s putting food on your table, there is no need to be ashamed, look around you and make use of the resources that is abundantly aYailable to you,” he concluded. On this track, Aca is well on his way to becoming the main man of .iuYa, %au, 7aileYu·s VCO processing and production, all through determination and grit.