Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, March 1999

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Palmeraie jardin as a sustainable alternative for oil palm production
by Paolo Segalla

Photo 1:
After harvest -Ifangni, Southeastern Benin
A traditional collector, called a 'grimpeur' (from the French), brings fruit to the house of the palm trees' owner, where women will process the fruit. Collecting is quite a dangerous job and not very well paid, so that fewer and fewer young people nowadays are interested in becoming a grimpeur.
Photo: Felicité da Cruz

Photo 2:
Traditional transformation process -Ifangni, Southeastern Benin.

Processing begins with the separation of the nuts from the bunch (regime). The nuts are then boiled and pressed, and water is added. After the oil and water layers separate, the oil is refined through boiling. On the photo we see the pressing of nuts (at the left) and the separation of the oil from the water (at the right).
Pressing is heavy work because the nuts remain very hard even after hours of boiling; the women hire a man to do this work. The photo was taken at a traditional house in Ifangni where women are in charge of the processsing. The women are organized as a groupement de femmes (mainly from the house). The male head of the house, who also owns the palm trees, claimed that he pays them, and some of the women confirmed this. But the most common economic arrangement in the palmeraie jardin is that the women buy nuts from the owner and run their own oil business independently, managing both the processing and the marketing. In this capacity women are thus competing with the big producers, such as the man on this photo. At Ifangni you find men like this one producing and storing oil and then exporting it to Nigeria through informal channels. Any time that improved oil palms and improved processing technology are involved, you rarely find women running a business. In the orange container you can see what is left after oil extraction. Women use this as fodder for pigs because it is rich in protein. For red oil there is only one pressing but different kinds of final products. For example, the oil variety called Zomi is of excellent quality, very tasty, and only slightly cooked. From the shells that remain after oil extraction, a white oil is extracted. This is called 'palmist oil', which is much appreciated for food preparation and industrial purposes. Sometimes this oil is the main source of revenue. Traditional blacksmiths make further use of what is left of the shells.
Photo: Felicité da Cruz

Photo 3:
Oil for human consumption -Adjara, Southeastern Benin.

In the small town Adjara, there is an important rural market where women sell oil ready for human consumption in recycled bottles. This oil is very good. Standards of quality have not been defined specifically, but local people obviously know very well what is good and what is not on the basis of the oil's density, colour, smell, taste and --not to be forgotten-- the confidence of the sellers.
Photo: Felicité da Cruz

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