Q+A from Warren Beaumont for Australian Certified Organic Magazine:
1. 1 What are the main 3-4 products you are sourcing sustainably and from which communities, and are these also organic and fair trade?
In 1998, African Pacific (www.africanpacific.com) and the Nui Organic LifeStyle Brand (www.nuicoconut.com) were established to create an innovative and sustainable platform for economic leadership, social activism and positive development outcomes in the Pacific.
In order to guide the company in best practice in terms of its vision, mission and objectives, a charter of Engagement was written up to guarantee ethical, sustainable and fair outcomes for all stakeholders in the supply chain: please see: http://www.nuicoconut.com/pages/fair-trade.html
The following raw materials and finished products are sourced from the Pacific Islands.
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| Organic | Wild Harvest | Nui Fair Trade Charter | Rainforest Alliance | FLO |
1. | Virgin Coconut Oil | ü Fiji: Tavenui Island, Wainiyaku Estate (Plantation).
Vanuatu Organic Coconut Oil planned for production in 2012 under ACO | ü Vanuatu: Espiritu Santo Island, Community Harvest from Khole & Lorethiakarkar, processed by Vanuatu Virgin Coconut Oil Limited | ü |
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2. | Cocoa |
| ü Vanuatu; Malekula Island PRV (planation) Malo Island, Malo Cocoa Cooperative
| ü | Pilot for certification to be launched in September 2011 | Pilot for certification to be launched in September 2011 |
3. | Vanilla | ü Vanuatu: Venui Vanilla http://www.venuivanilla.com/flex/about_us/46/1
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4. | Soaps | ü Fiji: Bula Organics, owned and operated by Lila Wati | ü Fiji: Bula Organics, owned and operated by Lila Wati | ü |
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5. | Coffee |
| ü Vanuatu, Tanna Island, supplied by TCP http://www.tannaislandcoffee.com/the-coffee/ | ü |
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6. | Tamanu Oil |
| ü Vanuatu, multiple suppliers and still under review | ü |
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7. | Noni |
| ü Vanuatu, multiple suppliers and still under review | ü |
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2. 2 Does the Nui foundation for instance return as much to the farmers or communities as the fair trade system does, and can you cite an example from one community. Are they being empowered by better contracts and infrastructure to expand their businesses?
Our aim to foster and encourage ethical, sustainable and fair entrepreneurship in the Pacific Islands. We create opportunities for engagement both in local & international markets through information, certification, value chain and business support. We are a founding member of FTANZ (Fair Trade Australia and NZ) and are a founding partner in the Pacific Growers Export Partnership (PGEP) (www.pacificgrowers.net in our vision to create alternative trading structure that support better market conditions and business enabling environments for pacific growers and value chain stakeholders.
We believe there is strong social, economic and environmental value in creating a new sustainable economic platform through the integration of the coconut, cocoa and carbon value chains on island.
Over the years, we have engaged and partnered with the following business in the Pacific:
Tropic Soap (Vanuatu- soaps and VCO), Kokonut Pacific (Samoa, Solomon Islands - Organic VCO), Mokosoi Soaps (Fiji –soaps), Wainiyaku Estate (Fiji-Organic VCO), (Bula Organics (Fiji- organic processor, soaps), Middle Ramu Cooperative Society (Medang PNG- PGEP, cocoa), Bougainville Cocoa-Net (Bougainville- PGEP, Cocoa), Guadalcanal Origin Trade (Solomon Islands – PGEP, cocoa), Cocoa Growers Association (Vanuatu – cocoa), Vanuatu Village Services (Vanuatu – cocoa and certification services), NPS (Vanuatu – cocoa), ACTIV (Vanuatu – PGEP, cocoa), CEITEL (Fiji-PGEP, Cocoa), Vanuatu Virgin Coconut Oil (Vanuatu- VCO, certification services and supply chain integration), Vanuatu Chocolate Limited (Vanuatu- cocoa bean export and local value add), Vanuatu Agricultural College (Vanuatu- Certification systems and services for organic, fair trade and sustainable agriculture), Plantation Russet Vanuatu (Vanuatu – cocoa and supply chain integration)
As in all business activity, success is not always to come by, and this is also true in the Pacific. However, we continue to maintain strong relationships with most of our partners, some have failed and remerged or integrated, some are now fully independent yet still follow the AP model of vale chain integration, but in over 80% of the partners we continue to work, share and develop experiences and products.
The most classic success of our intervention was in Vanuatu, in which our entry into the cocoa market doubled the price of cocoa in 2009, bringing an increase in earning of USD 500 000.00 to cocoa growers and the local price has been maintained through our continued engagement.
3. 3 With land at a premium, are cocoa and coconut an infinite resource that has to be carefully managed to avoid exploitation, such as has happened with palm oil in south east Asia?
I think land exploitation is always a problem in developing countries. Palm oil is an issue especially in PNG and the Solomon Islands, but I do hope that the environmental threat of Palm oil in Vanuatu has been sufficiently challenged on an economic, social and environmental basis. However, the ni Vanuatu still struggle to maintain their autonomy over their land rights as large tracts of land are still sold for development, for both residential and agricultural reasons. It is thus important to work with the local communities to create an earnings/revenue potential through high value, organic and sustainable village based agriculture that will allow them to withstand the threat of orthodox/mass development. This is a core aim of the AP/Nui model.
4. 4 How successful has the 'dollar a day' campaign been with supporters and how does this help the communities? (I think you explained this as 30% or cents of the dividend goes back for their investment and 60 cents goes back to island communities for micro financing or community development, while supporter are sent a Nui voucher).
- 30% Nui vouchers to be redeemed, 6/36 have redeemed last voucher and we need to focus to increase this as it is an integral part of building demand driven development.
- 30% Trade Facilitation – Bula Organics,
- 30% - equity – in fund around $2,000 which is a micro loan fund.
5. 5 What percentage of products from the South Pacific is organic certified and how are sales going this year such as chocolate and coconut edible products and cosmetics?
90% of Nui products are ACO certified prior to the unavailability of certified Virgin Coconut Oil from Wainiyaku in Fiji, due to the massive cyclone in March 2010. Although the plantation is recovering, organic production is still low and supply still not sufficient for the Nui Certified Organic VCO. This will change in July/August 2012, as we are encouraging multiple organic certifications in Vanuatu and should have strong volumes of organic VCO again from then on.
All sales are growing, mostly coconut products – oil and flour.
6. 6 With organic coconut, are you winning the debate about coconut being a healthy, low-cholesterol fat?
Nui Organic VCO was the first brand to really market Virgin coconut oil in Australia and most probably the second brand internationally. We were the first Certified Organic soap in the world, having launched the Nui soap range at BioFach (Germany) in 2000. I remember selling our 1 Litre Nui VCO with a skin care label as the Heart Foundation and the TGA did not like us advocating the health benefits of a saturated fat, even though it was from the healthiest fruit in the world.
Now there must be at least 13 or 14 VCO brands in Australia, of which Nui is still well recognised as creates the benchmark in terms of ethical, sustainable and fair. We take pride in the fact that many brands have copied our work and the market for Pacific origins has grown alongside the Nui brand.
As a business that is dedicated to universal development outcomes, our focus has always been to help competitors as well as co aspirants build their brands and supply chains. This is indeed the unique aspect and point of difference in AP/Nui is that one of our core beliefs is in a world of no separation and that we all need to work together to invest in change and build a new social corporate community of aspirational businesses that focus on the respect on people and planet, as well as profit.
7. 7 What about the future, do you have any new plans to spread the sustainability and organic message to consumers and customers?
I am really excited about the future and feel really privilege to be part of a small organisation that has had so much influence across the Pacific and Australia. When I sailed across the Pacific to Australia I step off the ship and it was a new world for me, I knew only the crew on the boat. I gave myself 14 years to build what was my vision for African Pacific and to understand how we can invest in change to achieve better outcomes for farmers and growers across the world. Now 13 years later, I am but one of many. We are a strong team and AP/Nui that manage the business very co creatively and collaboratively, we have our NuiGeneration of customers, wholesaler, $1 A Day partners, as well as the growers round 10 000 growers that are linked to us through the Pacific Growers Export Partnership.
In the 2012 FY we are committed to a co-ownership program within AP, Nui and the Foundation of Social Equity to really bring together the final phase of this process and share the knowledge, profit and equity of this regional community. We have a clear mandate on in terms of profit share, voice and equity which is really exciting and it will be interesting to watch the cooperative process unfold. We wish to focus on the $1 A Day Nui LifeStyle product, which really combines the passion and values of many of our customers in creating change and making this world a better place, with the requirement of strong economic investment in island entrepreneurship and infrastructure.
Beyond that, we have a strong mandate within the PGEP to help put in place the low cost, multi certification platform for growers in the Pacific and are working on cloud based web/text technology to support that process and have a fully integrated track and trace across the Pacific.
In Vanuatu we are focused on the Vanuatu Sustainable Agri-Business Initiative in integrating value add in coconut and cocoa with sustainable power generation through Biomass gasification technology. I this initiative I really see quantum changes that can be made to the economic benefits of on-island growers and processors, while maintaining culture and environmental integrity. It is indeed a pleasure to be part of the tam and this story.
I am extremely grateful to all those who have participated in helping to build the organic economy, including our islands partners, investors, peers, collegues, distributors, shops, stores, markets and most of all our Nui Organic LifeStyle customers who have spent their $$ to drive development demand and through their choice to support Nui have brought social competition and economic options to growers in the Pacific Region and positively improving the livelihoods of 1000's of growers, entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the islands.
At the same time, I am so grateful and proud of the AP/Nui/PGEP team ...who have been able to deliver healthy, sustainable and fair products to our Australia and international supporters and customers. Nui is developing into an Organic LifeStyle approach recreating a traditional and intimate relationship between grower and customer, yet stretching across the Pacific from farmgate to plate.
It is difficult to define the practical/productive outcomes of a system built on the normative principles of Ethical, Sustainable and Fair. However, I am confident that we have reached a sustainable foundation for building a community with a unique culture of care, compassion and commerce
I look forward to sharing and learning, leading from the heart in joining all others making our Pacific region, and our beautiful Planet a better place...
All open...questions, inquiries, sales...
vinaka vakalevu
lukim
andreas
I have the pleasure
