Cold Pressed Oils

Fearless Planet is revitalizing the former ORT training center in Old Ningo, and turning it into a food processing facility. In May 2005 we financed the renovation work necessary to ready the center for a visit from the first of the companies we will be producing for at the center.

In June 2005, Fearless Planet’s executive director, Danielle Gold, was in Ghana with the owners of Jungle Products to explore a business collaboration. While there Danielle met with more than 75 women from the Ningo area who want to participate in a collective that will produce organic and natural oils for Jungle Products, a California based company whose products sell in healthfood and specialty stores across America.

After a week long trip to Ghana by Jungle Products founder’s Mark and Emily Mattison, spent with Fearless Planet and the communities we work with, they felt confident about the collaboration and will be shipping an oil press to our center so we can begin production of the palm oil. The oil will be shipped in bulk to the US and packaged there.

Production will begin with palm nut oil, a red oil that comes from the fruit of the oil palm. Palm oil is gaining recognition for its nutritional value and unique flavor. It is used widely in traditional West African cooking, but also makes delicious potato chips, and can be used in place of more familiar oils in any dish.  We will be producing other oils as well, including palm kernel and coconut. As production gets underway we’ll keep you informed of where you can purchase our oil, marketed under the Jungle Products label and found in their gourmet foods as well.

Fearless Planet will work closely with small scale palm farmers in Ghana’s Eastern region. Oil palm growers, who usually farm as a family, will be assisted with seeds for planting compatible food crops and will be paid fair trade wages for their palm fruit. Some large commercial companies processing palm oil in the area have developed business practices that create “indentured” growers by providing farmers with seedlings they could otherwise not afford to purchase and in return forcing them to sell to them at a non-negotiable price set by the company. In addition, they have established large scale farming practices which are not environmentally sustainable. Fearless Planet is committed to providing growers with the best opportunity so that they make the choice to work with us, and offering families a chance to improve their conditions and protect their land from clear cutting, and other environmental damage.  

This project will bring training and business opportunity to a poor, under privileged community. Profits from sales will be used for programs to benefit the entire community, including improvements to the local health clinic which serves the entire area with its meager resources.  

If you would like to support this project or have skills, resources or contacts which you feel will benefit the project, please contact us.

Fearless Planet will manage the project in conjunction with development partner ORT, a well established technical training organization, who bring with them over 100 years of expertise in projects around the world.
 

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