On remote islands, diesel fuel for the village generator is delivered by barge in 50 gallon barrels. Often, transfer to the island is done on small boats.
Biofuel mills process coconuts into dried coconut meat, called copra, and then crush the copra to make coconut oil and copra meal for use as animal feed. Here, the mill site on Lakeba has dried copra ready to process.
On the island of Cicia, Nemani and I had lunch at the home of the coordinator of the Cicia women’s group. Pumpkin curry and roti, it was really nice. I received a gift of handmade virgin coconut oil.
The mill on Cicia is looked after by a family living next door. They have two children.
Our meeting at the village community hall was attended by several women.
Other villagers on Cicia took great interest in the evolving business plan for the Cicia biofuel mill.
On most islands we took the small boat to go ashore. Here is Nemani, the translator I hired and a crewman of the Vunilagi.
Our team included Joyce and Losala from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
We inspected the village generator on Cicia. It needed repair. We determined that the damage was not related to use of biofuel. They have two years of experience with coconut biofuel without problems.
Samuela greeted us at the village in Cicia.
On Rabi the villagers sell copra to a central business entity on the island at about ½ the price that the copra was later sold to the mill or to Copra Millers of Fiji Ltd. The central entity invested the profit in development projects on Rabi.
We were told that Koro was hit by Tropical Cyclone Winston, and that TC Winston was the second strongest storm ever recorded. But nothing can prepare you for what we witnessed as we disembarked on Koro.
From the first structure with its roof blown away, destruction was everywhere on Koro.
Not one home survived the winds and waves of TC Winston.
The tsunami washed over Nacamaki village and topped this church. Even concrete buildings were blown apart on Koro. Fortunately everyone in Nacamaki village survived because they climbed to the hills before the waves hit. In the next village, several people died.
The only shelter available now are shacks put together from the debris scattered about. The Australian Aid Society and UNICEF have provided tent shelters for homes and schools.
The biofuel mill lost its roof and walls, but the frame survived. Even the expeller was pushed aside from the wind. All the hardware is still functional including the generator. Now the mill structure is home to at least one family including elderly women. We had an informative meeting with the Mill Manager Iowane Bale, Supervisor Leone Mavu, Mill Operator Kameli Karavaki.
I am impressed with the calm dignity of the people of Koro, especially after everything they have been through.
We were uplifted by conditions on Gau. The mill is the best condition of any that we witnessed. It has been kept clean and all the equipment is in good condition. The mill on Gau is in the most sensible location of all, close to the village, on a main road, and close to the jetty.
Special thanks to Uraia, a mill worker who has been looking after the mill, without payment for over a year. Uraia will make a great Mill Manager.
Gau is in the best shape to rapidly get back into the biofuel business. They have two large drying sheds. This one can process 20 bags of copra, containing 25 kilo each, in two days. The other is capable of 40 bags in two days. This method of drying preserves copra product quality by avoiding contact with wood smoke. Fire wood consumption in reduced in this system with fire in the steel pipe and the shed conserves heat.
Raw copra is spread out on the wire grate. It takes two days to dry thoroughly. This drying shed can process 20 bags. A larger drying shed on Gau can process 40 bags.
We reached agreement to run Gau as a model project with District officer Revoni Vakasalu (shown here) and Chairman of the Island Council Viliame Nasere, and Island representative Kelepi Seki.
Our understanding shifted when we arrived on the island of Rotuma. They have developed the biofuel mill site into a production site for virgin coconut oil – VCO. VCO is a premium food product. The Rotuman’s are investing collected savings from the village to expand into exporting this valuable product. In this picture, I’m standing next to Penamino, who is the manager of the VCO operation. From Rotuma we learned that the mill sites should reduce their focus on biofuel manufacturing and instead make money on VCO.
On this project I led a team of 11 financial auditors and mechanical engineers from the Department of Energy to develop business plans for the Rural Biofuel Mills in support of the National Biodiesel Plan. We led a workshop for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Economy, and the Fiji Department of Energy. The project included a 1,500 mile trip on an ocean going ship, traveling to all eight of the remote islands in Fiji where the government has constructed biofuel plants. The rural biofuel mills are similar in design to the pilot plant which we built in 2012. A national reorganizational plan is underway for the biofuel mills including technical upgrading to produce international quality standard biodiesel and advanced Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – HVO Marine Diesel.
Energy is the foundation for economic development. In the South Pacific, people get almost all of their electricity from diesel-electric generators. They have the most expensive electricity rates in the world, as much as $2 USD for 1 kwh whereas in the USA the cost is below $0.20 per kwh. People suffer from “energy poverty” as the United Nations describes it. They are stuck without the ability to develop economically until energy supply becomes reliable and affordable. Rural islands in the South Pacific are at the end of an unreliable distribution chain, often causing villages to run out of fuel for one week out of every month.
The revised mill site business plan includes earning export revenue on production of premium quality virgin coconut oil, production of copra oil for biofuel and copra meal for use as animal feed. Copra contains 70% coconut oil, which is the nicest vegetable oil for production of biodiesel, HVO fuel, and for straight vegetable oil – SVO biofuel. Domestic production of biofuels allow for import substitution, offsetting spending valuable international currency earnings and allowing for substitution of costly imported petroleum.
Presently the mills don’t earn export revenue on copra meal because the mill sites are so remote. With the Ministry of Agriculture we are developing a business model where the mill sites retain the coconut meal and become vertically integrated to manufacture animal food products like chickens and pigs. Biodiesel can be used at 100% concentration in diesel engines for electric generation and for water pumping. Nikua’s plan to install hardware for production of biodiesel and HVO fuel, will promote grid extension, rural power generation stations, and village mini-grids for power distribution.
People living on rural islands in the South Pacific want jobs. Here $100 USD a week is considered a good wage, yet people pay twice what Americans pay for everything. For one dozen eggs the cost is about $3.00 if they can get it. When I finish my work, the people in these beautiful and isolated communities will have more food and more energy at lower prices and more jobs. The Fijian people are really kind and appreciate my work here. Their Christian faith is important to the community.
Enjoy the photos from my 35 day mission to the remote islands of Cicia, Lakeba, Rabi, Koro, Gau and Rotuma.