With the perfect sandy soil, geographical location, bordering advantages and adequate water sources, a Linden coconut farmer is confident that the expansion of the local coconut industry will bring economic benefits to not only Region 10 but in extension Guyana.
A bottle of his manually made virgin coconut oil
Owen De Souza who re-migrated from the United States to pursue his love for agriculture and to contribute to the local industry owns a huge coconut farm and is reaping the benefits of his decision to return home.
Describing the cultivation of coconut as lucrative, De Souza said that if more emphasis is placed on not only coconut cultivation but agriculture as a whole, Linden would be in a better place economically. He reasoned that with the dying bauxite industry since the advent of synthetic materials, more emphasis should be placed on agriculture to boost Linden’s economy and coconut would be a perfect focus as all the necessities are available for the industry to bloom. This would require much work as managing his farm with the assistance of one employee is sometimes challenging.
“It was a wise choice to plant coconut because of the pesticides that are bothering us in Block 22 that is eating out the vegetable crops so I had to switch out to permanent coconut,” he revealed. He quickly secured markets to persons in the interior but after realizing that it can be more profitable to add value to his produce, he then commenced coconut oil production with the focus on virgin coconut oil being cognizant of the many health benefits derived from consumption and external usage.
Owen De Souza tending to his coconut farm
“I started grating like five coconuts and then 10 and 15 and then I employed someone and then together we grated like 30 and then we realized that we can grate more so we grate 50 and then we grate 100 and then I get to realize that this grating thing is too strenuous and too much concentration so I went to Nabaclis on the East Coast and took photos of the factory we grew up in and returned to Linden and made my own machine,” he said.
With the availability of the machine, De Souza now produces both virgin and regular coconut oil for export and to supply the local market. He boasted that his virgin product has healed many sicknesses and the market keeps growing daily. “I have many testimonies even people from North America call me and encouraged me to do it in a more international style like labeling and content. People who use it are seeing the benefits, it’s a body cleanser, women use it to clean marks from their skin, in their hair as lip stick gloss, it is good to anoint your head, it takes out dandruff, it takes out pain from the body, it’s good for cold and so much more benefits.”
To make the 100% virgin coconut oil, De Souza explained that the coconut is washed, grated and set in a clean metal container, left for 18 hours and the fat that rises to the top is scaled off. The oil is then extracted with a syringe, strained and bottled. The regular oil is fried and boiled but according to the coconut oil producer, the vitamins are killed and therefore the virgin oil is more beneficial for consumption.
De Souza is however worried that the coconut industry is dying and is pleading with the Government of Guyana to revitalize this very important industry as it would eliminate the need for importing various internationally produced oil for consumption and external use.
“We need to revitalize the coconut industry across Guyana, I recommend that regionally we have a coconut plantation early as possible……it would create employment and would be exported……we should plant coconut at the Maboura/Rockstone junction because it has the suitable soil we have the creeks there and it is more accessible to the interior and the Brazilians that pass there will be allowed to purchase,” he reasoned.
De Souza is of the opinion that the coconut industry will decrease the high level of unemployment in the region especially for agricultural students leaving school. But there must have the establishment of an agricultural institute to develop the skills needed for cultivation.
He is also encouraging the Guyanese in the diaspora to return home and invest in the agriculture industry.