The recent donation of an electronic coconut scraper to the Sinuvaca Young Women’s Club on Koro Island will go a long way in developing the club’s virgin oil business.
The electric coconut scraper was presented to the club by the Ministry of Youth and Sports director, William Naisara.
Club Assistant president, Salanieta Latianara, in receiving this donation said that the electronic coconut scraper worth $1,400, would cater to the high demand for virgin coconut oil from Koro.
“The reason we asked for this assistance was because we have a virgin oil business in place and it can be a lengthy process scraping coconuts using the normal scrapers that we have,” Ms Latianara said.
She said there were 28 members of the club and only six coconut scrapers used to produce 40 liters of virgin coconut oil in a month.
“We are now supplying virgin coconut oil at 40 litres a month to Coconuts Fiji and with this electric coconut scraper it would really speed up production and help meet the demand of our buyer,” Ms Latianara said.
She said revenue generated from their virgin coconut oil business will facilitate their long term goal of funding the building of flush toilets in the village.
“Our target is to raise $5,000 to $6,000 within the next five years,” Ms Latianara said.
Mr Naisara said the Ministry was committed to the development of the lives and welfare of youths especially those living in the rural and maritime zones.
“We hope that this assistance will be fully utilized and fulfill its purpose and that the young women at the receiving end of this assistance will benefit greatly,” Mr Naisara said.
DEPTFO