Gari processing machine (left) and Treaded Pump for irrigation (right), both made in Liberia.

03/04/2012 (Liberian Daily Observer) - With locally-made palm distillation machines now on the market, palm oil production will no longer be business as usual.

The new distilling machines are made-in-Liberia; right there in Gbarnga, Bong County, by the Moonlight Metal Works Garage. The garage is being operated by young Liberians trained in Metal Works.

Representatives from the garage recently made a presentation of their machines and their benefit to the local community at an Agriculture show held by the Suakoko-based Cuttington University in Bong County.

They did not mince words when they said their machines were built to make palm oil distillation a much smoother experience, allowing users to produce even more oil compared to the traditional method, which is highly labor-intensive.

Traditionally, the palm nuts are boiled in a large pan and transferred from the steaming water into a mortar. They are then pounded for a couple of hours to produce a thick paste.

A pan of clean water is then fetched to wash the straws and kernels. Once these are out of the way, farmers are left with a thick paste, which they then boil for an additional several hours. During this process, the oil assembles atop the liquid of the paste. The fire is turned off to allow the solution to cool. A couple of hours later, the oil is separated from the liquid. Afterwards, the paste is once more boiled and another oil collection process begins. This process may be repeated for an entire day or two.

Benedict Sampson is the general manager of the Moonlight Metal Works Garage. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer, Sampson said it took him and some friends of his 21 days of intensive training to set up their enterprise. This was back in 2007, he said. A few years later, the team first produced and launched a manual machine, which they named “Freedom Mill I”. However, this machine could only distil modified palm (the locally consumed Makinto oil).

Having observed the manual labor endured by palm oil producers, especially those distilling palm oil from wild palm nuts, Sampson and his team refined their machine to remedy the solution. They named the new creation “Freedom Mill II”. With this mill, both wild and modified palm nuts can be distilled.

The group did not limit their creative work to palm oil production only. Last year, they produced a motorized version of the machines for use by larger oil palm farmers. With this latest version, farmers only need an hour or so to produce huge quality of oil. The motorized machine takes ten minutes to distill a large container of palm nuts.

The manual version of the machine is sold for US$800, while the motorized type is sold for US$2,800.

But Sampson said the prices of the machines have really not posed a constraint to farmers, who have rather strategically formed cooperatives and have continued to stream into Moonlight Metal Works Garage for more of the equipment.

Payments are, however, made in installations and not on a cash-down basis, which not many of the farmers can afford, Sampson said.

Also displayed at the Agriculture Show hosted by Cuttington University were several locally-produced rice and cassava processing machines. These machines are being produced by the Bensonville-based T.R. Enterprise outside Monrovia. The cassava is processed into Farina, popularly known as Gari.

Two types of Farina processors were exhibited: the REDC Cassava Grater and the Double Screw Press. Peeled cassava tubers are first placed in the REDC Cassava Grater for processing. The end products are collected, bagged and placed on the Double Screw Press for dewatering.

George Karcora, the Sales Manager of T.R. Enterprise, said it takes a few hours for the cassava to be dewatered in order to have Farina or Gari.

In Liberia, like elsewhere, Farina or Gari is largely consumed by students because it is perceived as a kind of fast-food by this demographic. It can either be mixed with sugar and milk for immediate consumption; or cooked like fufu and consumed with fried fish or any Liberian dish.

The Corn Sheller and Rice Thresher were also among the locally-made machines exhibited during the show.