Our Partners
Building partnerships for a sustainable future.
Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands (KPSI)
Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands is a for-profit social enterprise comprising a network of independent village businesses, across the islands, producing Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). Formed in November 2004, KPSI originally operated from an old rented warehouse near the harbour in Honiara. At that stage it supported ten DME® VCO producers on three islands, with a total of three members of staff. In 2014 KPSI purchased land near the airport on the outskirts of Honiara and built a new warehouse on its own ‘Coconut Campus’.
KPSI has also helped the oil producers to form their own Association, VCOPA (Virgin Coconut Oil Producers’ Association). These producers get together every two years for a week of learning, sharing stories, and being encouraged in their endeavours. These conferences are well attended from many of the outlying villages.
KPSI worked closely with the Niulife Foundation in establishing the Coconut Technology Centre Foundation Project.
Crawford Fund
The Crawford Fund recognises the work of Kokonut Pacific and has supported a number of projects prior to the establishment of the Niulife Foundation.
In 1999 the NSW Australia committee funded our Founder, Dr Dan Etherington, and an artisan from Samoa, to run a DME® training course in Tuvalu, an independent island nation in the South Pacific. The Tuvalu Government, who had requested the course, provided local support. Sixteen local participants constructed a drier and learned about the many aspects of producing and marketing Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). The vision was for Tuvalu to establish a VCO services centre that would support all stages of a local industry. By reducing labour and increasing the value of the product, this initiative had the potential to raise living standards and encourage the people of Tuvalu to protect their fragile environment.
In 2001, the Crawford Fund helped another Pacific island nation, the Republic of Kiribati, to benefit from the DME® process, by supporting Dr Dan Etherington and Mr Chris Maina to provide training for members of a women’s VCO project on Abaiang Island.
