World Coconut Day was held from the 3rd to the 5th of October at the Sir John Guise Indoor complex in Port Moresby.
It was hosted by Kokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK), the regulatory body of the Coconut Industy in PNG. World Coconut Day is an event of the International Coconut Community made up of coconut growing countries.
There are 21 coconut growing countries globally and each take turn to host World Coconut Day annually.
PNG played host to this year’s festival with guests from member countries invited to participate and interact with stakeholders especially small to medium enterprises who showcased their products at this event.
Among the SMEs was North Coast Farmers from Milne Bay Province.
Owner Gwen Jerome has a coconut plantation and has been in business two years running.
Gwen began producing coconut products after being introduced to the idea by KIK.
“I own a plantation. I started without funds because these are downstream products. I sell then branched out, I spend to make money. I make products such as coconut milk ice cream, soaps, oils and essence.”
Another passionate producer of coconut products is 55-year-old Josephine Kinoli from Manus Province.
She started her business in 2002 buying coconut oils in bulk from village women then repackaging and reprocessing for sale.
Like Gwen, Josphine’s company, Manus Coconut Product and Services is a booming business, specializing in 14 various product lines of skin care and hair products.
She has also diversified the business to include other plant products such as Tumeric, Noni and Moringa.
Back in the 90s, Josephine worked at the Kulili Plantation on Karkar Island in Madang.
At the end of her stint, she returned home to Manus in 2000 and decided to put her knowledge to good use.
By 2005 she generated enough funds to purchase land, build a home and have a place to produce coconut products.
In diversifying her business, she praised God for the wisdom and blessings that has helped her develop the ideas for her ventures.
On marketing, this is what she had to say, “we don’t advertise, our products promote itself, one customer buys and spreads the word.”
The family run business supplies to Harbourside and Seeadler Bay hotels in Manus and the general population, while around the country, Josephine takes orders through shipping and DHL Services.
Gwen and Josephine like many other SMEs who showcased their products at the World Coconut Day were able to do so with the backing of Kokonas Indastri Koporesen.
An important component is ensuring they meet the national standards of producing quality products for consumption this includes packaging and branding.
KIK continues to provide training and financial literacy to rural communities across the country especially for farmers and plantation owners.
KIK is encouraging them to participate in order to achieve the country’s Medium Term Development Goal 4 – To grow PNG’s GDP to K200 billion and create one-million jobs.