WHEN Dan and Maureen Etherington started importing virgin coconut oil from the Solomon Islands, they had no idea how large their social enterprise would become – or that coconut oil would be heralded as a health food and become widely in demand.

They have just celebrated 20 years of their Queanbeyan-based company, Kokonut Pacific, which exports coconut presses overseas and then imports the oil back to Australia to pack and sell under their brand, Niulife.

“We started out to do something for the people of the Solomon Islands, who were making copra from coconuts,” says Maureen. “Making copra is tough work producing an inedible product for industrial use, and the farmers were getting so little money for it. We thought there had to be a better way.”

Agricultural economist Dan began working on a coconut press, and over the years developed a design that produces fresh, virgin coconut oil within an hour of opening the nut.

And not only that, the oil it produces is a premium product, they say.

“We initially sold our oil to a Melbourne company who weren’t terribly interested at first, and told us there was no such thing as virgin coconut oil. We said; ‘There is now!’,” Maureen says.

“We managed to convince them to buy two 200-litre drums at first – which grew to six tonnes every month.”

Kokonut Pacific has now exported more than 400 presses, with three currently packaged up to send to Kiribati and four to Papua New Guinea.

“At that time we had no idea coconut oil was a health product,” says Maureen. “We saw it being used for village food, biofuel and soap. It was hard to sell here because of the dietary guidelines against saturated fat.

“As we only had one product, we decided to bring in coconut flour, as well as other dry coconut products, and then also the nectar products, like syrup, sugar and sauces made from the coconut blossom.

“It’s an exciting time now, with the paleo diet becoming so popular. We feel as though we are riding a wave, and we don’t know when it will slow down but it is exciting!”

Dan and Maureen say that one of the issues they face is keeping up with demand.

“The main problem is that things are very relaxed in the Pacific! They stop working for months at Christmas and to them, relationships are the most important thing,” says Maureen.

“It’s really lovely – if there’s a wedding or a funeral, they will spend weeks preparing feasts. We’re caught between their culture and the western demand. We want things now, but it can be a slow process to get the oil – not helped by the remoteness of the island producers.

“We have to manage the demand with the pressure on them to produce while protecting the best aspects of their life and culture. The great thing is that with our technology we are creating village-based enterprises which generate five times more income than turning the same nuts into copra. The money gets spent on many things including school fees, community projects and solar lights.

The next stage for Kokonut Pacific is establishing a coconut technology centre in the Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara.

“It’s a not-for-profit organisation that will carry out research into new ways to use coconuts so that nothing is wasted,” says Dan. “It will also train farmers in these methods, in order to add value to all components of the coconut.

“The Solomon Islands are faced with rising ocean levels and rising population growth. They need to provide employment for the upcoming generation.

“The rationale is that we are providing meaningful employment for people where they live. They don’t need to travel into cities to find work, which enhances community.

“All this is done with minimal government links. We’re a private social enterprise that isn’t reliant on aid.

“The business has grown at a sensible rate for us to be able to fund it and then plough the profits back into the enterprise.”