Banaban Oil
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Thu 2 Jul 2015 22:57
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Our Visit to the Banaban Coconut Oil
Factory
 No visit to Nuku would have been
complete without a visit to the tiny building to watch the half a dozen
welcoming and happy workers at the Banaban Virgin Coconut Oil Factory. So little
we forgot to take its picture, so instead, the billboard
poster taken at ‘the bus terminus’.
  We walked a few dozen strides back
from the bus depot and as we neared ‘the factory’ a lady whipped her music
producing ear buds out, extended her hand and cracked massive smile. Such a
welcome “Come, come, where are you visiting from”. The small building was in two
halves, the left – the goings-on side, the right – storage and the office. In
between was covered walkway set up as the de-fuzzing
on one side and cracking on the other. The coconuts used here seemed to be small, no bigger than Bears
fist, “yes, we use a hybrid here”. The weeny whose job it was to crack the
coconuts wielded her machete as if it were a butter
knife.............
Now inside the left-hand building we
could see the spin-grinder machines used to remove
the white flesh, called Splitting.
  Next, the removed flesh is cold-pressed and the fluid is
sieved three times, each through an ever finer mesh.
 On the work bench was a pile of soap, I particularly like the star shapes that were formed
in a jelly mould. Sadly, we couldn’t buy any as it wasn’t ‘tidied up’ or
packaged. Surprisingly it had no aroma at all, wasn’t sticky and was quite
solid.
 Through a door, we were in the long
drying room.
  All the empty
shells are piled in one corner and fed into the fire
below, a happy chap turns the pressed flesh with a trowel to ensure even
drying.
   It takes just a half an hour to turn
the moist chippings into the dry
darker shade, this is then bagged and piled at the
back by the flue, This will be sold to the locals for one pound sixty a
sack, used to bulk up pig fodder.
 Back through the splitting and soap
room we passed through the ‘bits and bobs’ store
room.
 Outside our guide
showed Maj the nearly finished product.
      I nipped back and took the last of
the process pictures.
  Standing out in
the sun, the last of the ‘bits’ are skimmed off and after three weeks
the clear fluid is ready to be bottled. Perfumes can
be added at this stage.
 We bought a Sandalwood Body Oil for
three pounds and Coconut Oil for one pound thirty, this can be used in cooking
or a couple of spoonful’s can be taken “to keep you regular, if you are having
problems not going”........ We then said our fond farewells and thanked to this
great bunch of happy workers. Time for a snack
before hitting the pier.
ALL IN ALL A JOYFUL VISIT
AMAZINGLY SMALL-SCALE
INDUSTRY
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