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Guyana 2005

It's good for massages, as an insect repellant and also as a soap. So say the makers of crabwood oil which is bringing much needed income and employment to families in the Waini area of Region One.

To meet increasing demand, Maria Gonsalves, a rancher who has a small crabwood oil processing plant in Third Lagoon, Waini has asked the Amerindians in the area to embrace crabwood oil production. She says it can go a long way in improving their standard of living.

Gonsalves began processing crabwood oil as a child by helping her parents. Three years ago she decided to use her unique skill to open a business. In addition, she is a rancher and has 18 heads of cattle although they are now under threat from tigers being driven inland by logging operations.

Five women, including Gonsalves, process the oil. One gallon is produced in seven hours of work. She says the income these women earn working with her is much more than what they would earn on their farms. In addition, eleven men and women supply the operation with crabwood oil seeds.

Processing involves boiling the seeds until tender, then leaving them for two days in the cool.

Following this the boiled seeds are cracked and the pulp dug out; then it is thoroughly kneaded until the oil comes out. Or it is further dried on an aluminum sheet or squeezed through a matapee.

"It's a very slow and long process," Gonzalves says but notes if she decided to use a press machine to extract the oil, this process would be much longer, since the pulp would fall through the tiny drainage holes.

She plans to apply for a forest concession where the crabwood oil seeds are plentiful but only for harvesting purposes and not for cutting logs.

As loggers move more into the Waini to access crabwood, harvesters of the seed have to travel further. Crabwood oil has various purposes and can be used on the skin, in the hair and even for internal aches, but a doctor's advice or recommendation should be sought on its use, Gonsalves said.

A conservation plan

Annette Arjoon, co-founder of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society(GMTCS), who buys the oil from Gonsalves and markets it, says over the three years GMTCS has been in operation they have marketed copra (dried coconut) for communities in the Waini and now crabwood oil. These communities in turn become conservation partners. Arjoon is also the managing director of Shell Beach Adventures which shares its office at Le Meridien with GMTCS.

After the oil's launch at Guyana Night in August, promotional exercises continued at GuyExpo2K4 and at the Caribbean Gift and Craft Show in Barbados.
Attendance at these promotional events was made possible by a grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The grant, valued around US$10,000, covered marketing items such as bottles, labels and booklets.

According to Arjoon, they sold a lot of product at the "Buy Local" night and the response was tremendous. Locally the prices for the soaps are $400 to $500 and the massaging oil and repellant both retail for $1400.

Persons who did not purchase products at Guyana Night can do so at the Shell Beach Adventures store at Le Meridien.

Gonsalves who accompanied Arjoon to a Barbados exhibition, says, "we have a long, long way to travel to get into that market," commenting also on the better packaging of competing products. Nevertheless, both noted that in terms of price the crabwood oil products were competitive.

Suitable bottles for the product could not be found in Guyana so white plastic bottles were imported from Trinidad. The company is now looking towards better packaging since, ideally the product should be sold in glass amber bottles to maintain its medicinal properties.

Last week one gallon of the oil was exported to St. Lucia and three gallons were requested this week. Le Meridien also buys the product for guests.
However, the challenge really is to get the value-added (bottled oil) product to be exported.

Currently Arjoon's only crabwood oil supplier is Gonsalves. The crabwood oil soap is made in a settlement community on Almond Beach, on the Waini River. After Gonsalves can establish their markets fully, the proceeds will be invested into other projects to bring economic benefits to other hinterland communities.