Avocado - Possible Income Generating Activity
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Avocados are grown fairly easily in Kabondo, which is located in one of two areas in Kenya that can grow them. The community would like to examine the possibility of turning avocados into an income-generating idea including the production of value-added products (such as oil for beauty products or use in cooking/food preparation).
Help us gather research on the possible uses of avocados and its parts (oil, seed, leaves, skin, etc). Any ideas are welcome!

Hi Everyone,
I have moved the avocado discussion here so that it has its own task.
A neighbour has provided me with a report prepared in a competition. It was the winning report and is all about avocado oil and its uses as well as the process for extracting and using the peel as an organic pesticide. The report suggests/discusses application in the Dominican Republic.
Here is the link
http://foundation-imagine.org/Members/admin/english/projects/avocado-oil
And I will attach the report here as well.
Barb
Hi everyone,
Another neighbour provided the following information on biofuel as an alternative. I am posting it here for discussion. I think this one will bring about a lot of discussion as there is a bit of controversy around this, especially when farmers switch from food crops to crops for biofuel. What do people think?
Barb
One sunny morning two years ago, Andrew Okello, technical director of Biodiesel Technologies, gathered a crowd in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi. A generator was running and an assortment of tanks and plastic buckets containing colored liquids were connected by garden hose-like tubing. Okello even used a recycled plastic bottle - not a beaker or some other scientific glassware - to display his pride and joy, a yellowish liquid that turned out to be the biodiesel that was powering the generator. It had been made from avocados collected as rejects from the local open-air market.
Okello used the same avocado-derived diesel to fuel to a 14-seat, public-service van, and drove a small group around the city. The van ran on the biodiesel. It felt the same, sounded the same. The smell, though, was different. Instead of diesel fumes, it smelled like something was cooking, maybe getting burned.
Biodiesel is simply any diesel fuel prepared from biological matter, as opposed to petroleum. It can be made from a long list of raw materials, including animal fats, vegetable oils of all sorts, even oil from algae. German engineer Rudolf Diesel designed his engine in the late 1890s to work on a variety of fuels, including coal dust. The engine he displayed at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris ran on peanut oil, another form of biodiesel.
Even a hobbyist can make biodiesel fairly easily. In the case of avocados, the "meat" gets pressed and filtered to extract the oil. This can also be done with other fruits, such as the meat from a coconut, or a wide variety of vegetables, most commonly soy beans. The extracted oil is usually heated or stirred with a drying agent, such as magnesium sulfate, to remove as much water as possible. The next step treats the organic oil with alcohol, usually methanol, and a catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide. This breaks down the oil, replacing glycerin with alcohol, which is a process called transesterification. The result is a fatty acid methyl ester and glycerin, which sinks so the biodiesel can be decanted from the top. The decanted liquid consists of biodiesel and residual alcohol, which must be removed through distillation or chemical means. The whole process is akin to making moonshine.
It is also possible to use biological matter, such as corn, to make bioethanol, which can be blended with gasoline. This idea is no newer than biodiesel: In the early 1900s, Henry Ford designed his Model T so that it could run on corn- or hemp-based ethanol.
THE KENYAN EXPERIENCE
Although companies in Kenya have plans to produce significant volumes of biofuel, none have yet done so. It looked like Green Power East Africa would be first to produce commercial quantities, when its plant came online in 2006. That plant mainly uses cotton seeds for raw material and that caused trouble. Gregor von Drabich of Green Power East Africa, says, "Currently, we have problems getting enough cotton seeds at a fair price." He adds that Green Power East Africa's plant could potentially make 12 tons of biodiesel every day, but it has only reached 10% of that volume so far. Worse still, Green Power East Africa has temporarily shut down the plant, because of a lack for affordable raw materials. As a result, the company has tested alternative sources for making biodiesel. Drabich says, "We have tested soy bean, sunflower, castor, avocado, coconut, and jatropha, which holds a huge potential in the future."
Biodiesel Technologies feels the same pressure to find a sustainable supply of raw materials. Consequently, it only makes biodiesel when someone provides the materials or pays in advance for the processing. For example, Okello says that occasionally a group of farmers provides canola oil for him to process.
Appreciating the need for a sustained supply Okello is working with owners of small farms in Kenya's Coast Province. The farmers are being taught to grow jatropha and coconut, which produce high volumes of raw materials. "These crops and select others have high caloric value, hence their choice," Okello says.
Jatropha is especially interesting: It produces dry, black poisonous nuts that are about 35% oil. In the past, jatropha was planted primarily to stop erosion and prevent land from turning to desert. It grows in very poor soil, and an established plant can produce nuts for half a century. But as Drabich points out, "Jatropha is only starting up in Kenya now."
Sugarcane is another possible source of biofuel. Peter Kegode, an agricultural economist who serves as chairman of the Sugar Campaign for Change sees it as a driver of Africa's coming economic boom. "Forget information communication technology. Biodiesel is what can make Africa leapfrog into a developed economy," says Kegode. According to Sugar Campaign for Change's Web site, Approximately 5 million people depend on sugarcane farming in Kenya either directly or indirectly. Kegode is one of many in Kenya talking up the potential of a biofuels industry to create jobs.
But even if Kenya could develop a viable biofuels industry, that doesn't necessarily mean that it should. "Kenya, with its food problems, would be better served to invest in food production," says David Pimentel of Cornell University. "Kenya also has a fuel-wood shortage and tends to burn crop residues. Removing and burning crop residues leaves the soil exposed to increased wind and water erosion. This devastates the productivity of the soil."
Africa Builds Up for Biofuel
Projects across Africa aim to enhance biofuel production and use. In South Africa, finance minister Trevor Manuel proposed that the government provide incentives to boost synthetic-fuel and biofuel investments. In Nigeria, Lemna International and other companies recently signed contracts to build biofuel-production factories. Similar projects are underway in Swaziland. Also in November 2006, Senegal partnered with Brazil and India, to cooperate in biofuels production. In Malawi, the government put laws in place that require 5% of all fuel to be environmentally friendly biofuel.
The biofuels industry in Africa should also benefit from a series of recent projects. In South Africa, for example, Ethanol Africa is investing $1 billion to build biofuel plants, which will produce bioethanol and biodiesel from corn. In Uganda, the Mukono Flower Firm announced plans to build a $20,000 biodiesel plant. In addition, Marli Investment Zambia plans to spend about $16 million on a plant that will produce biodiesel from jatropha. Some of the African companies have even spread across the continent. The Kenya-based, vegetable-oil company Bidco, for example, plans to expand its investment in Uganda to include a $30 million biodiesel-manufacturing plant.
These examples, however, largely depict plans and promises. The real key to this industry in Africa is results, which are rare at the moment.
A COMPETITIVE PRODUCT?
The marketability of biodiesel is also in doubt. Cost, net energy production, environmental impact, and practical problems threaten to kill Kenya's biofuel business in its infancy. With no company making any significant volumes of biodiesel in the country, no one can be sure whether it will be priced competitively with petroleum in Kenya. But internationally, biodiesel is not cheaper. A June 2005, publication of the US Environmental Protection Agency states, "While costs vary by location, [a 20% biodiesel-80% petroleum diesel] blend generally costs about 20 cents per gallon more than regular diesel fuel. [Pure biodiesel] generally costs about $1 more per gallon than regular diesel fuel."
Consequently some of the would-be entrepreneurs in Kenyan biofuels say that the industry needs tax incentives to survive and grow. If given five tax-free years, Drabich says, "we can then do our investment plans and expand quickly." He also suggests that Kenya's government should follow the lead of other countries - including Brazil and the United States, as well as the European Union - by mandating that over time some percentage, say 5%, of diesel sold must be biodiesel.
Louis Strydom disagrees. His published article on the EcoWorld web site about the conditions that must be met to build a biofuels industry. Instead of begging for help, he stated: "The project should be sufficiently viable not to require any kind of subsidies, thus not requiring government support to keep the projects afloat." He added, "All subsidies come from the consumer at the end of the day and thus the more viable the project can be without subsidies the more the benefit to governments and their citizens." Strydom is not an independent observer. He's spent the past couple years trying to create a jatropha plantation - nearly a quarter-million acres - and a biodiesel refinery in Kenya. Although he continues that effort, he believes that his project - and other biofuels project - should not rely on outside support.
An area of contention is the net energy from biofuels, that is, the ratio of energy input to energy output. In 2005, Pimental and Tad Patzek of the University of California, Berkeley, reported in Natural Resources Research on the net energy provided from various raw materials turned into biofuels. "Our assessment of soybean, sunflower, and canola, all indicate that it takes more fossil energy to produce a liter of biodiesel than the energy in the liter of biodiesel," says Pimentel. "This is based on including all the energy inputs, not omitting some of the energy inputs."
For example, Pimentel and Patzek reported that using sunflowers took 118% more energy than it produced. Contrast that with a recent EPA publication which states: "Biodiesel has a positive energy balance. For every unit of energy needed to produce a gallon of biodiesel, 3.24 units of energy are gained." Net energy depends on exactly how a crop gets grown, harvested, and processed, accounting for some of the disagreement. Measuring the net energy produced from a range of biofuels, and therefore of their viability, could take some time to determine.
There are also question-marks over the environmental friendliness of biofuels. According to the US Department of Energy, biodiesel is cleaner. For example, burning 100% biodiesel would produce only 25% as much carbon dioxide as burning petroleum-based diesel. In contrast, the EPA believes that burning pure biodiesel can produce as much as 10% more nitrogen oxides than petroleum-based diesel.
Beyond the struggles of actually producing biofuels, companies will also face marketing challenges. Okello's van-driving demonstration in Nairobi might have sputtered into defeat, if he had continued it long enough. This is because biodiesel often turns out to be a better solvent than petroleum diesel. So if a customer switches from petroleum diesel to biodiesel, it can dissolve deposits in fuel lines that can plug the fuel filter. As a result, most car manufacturers recommend that drivers change the fuel filter after switching to biodiesel, usually after the first 800 miles. That can usually be done for less than $75, and even the while-you-wait, oil-change companies do it. Although not an insignificant cost, especially in Africa, it is a one-time fix if the owner keeps using biodiesel.
A diesel engine might run fine on some blends of biodiesel - especially ones like B5, which is 5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum-based diesel - but not on pure biodiesel. Many of them now list biodiesel information; For example, Volkswagen guidelines state that its diesel engines work fine with blends that contain no more than 5% biodiesel, adding: "Never use any fuel, whether diesel, B5 biodiesel, or otherwise, that fails to meet the latest petroleum industry specifications or that is not purchased from a commercial retail diesel pump."
Despite the ongoing struggles, and the apparent distance of success, Kenya will keep pursuing the biofuel industry. It is a useful testbed for the agricultural, technological and environmental challenges that will face other developing countries intent on finding new sources of energy and income.
I think it is great that we are collecting some very useful information already. I had a look at the process recommended in the Dominican Republic and it is indeed interesting. My only comment is that I would like us to explore a bit more on the operation where the extract is mixed with water. I think there might be a better way to do it and save that operation. The good part is that by using water there is no need to use any solvent.
In regards to the use of the avocado oil to produce oil, I have to say I am against it. Firstly because all the issues that the use of food products is causing at a worldwide level affecting the supply of food for the poorest countries and secondly because I belive the oil is much more valuable than the transeterified product that is used as fuel. There are other oils that are much cheaper and that can be used for the same purpose. There is really a lot of health benefits in the avocado oil and it would be waste to use it for fuel production.
Look forward to more of your thoughts.
Raul
I tend to agree with Raul on the use of Avocados for biodiesel. Apart from the shortage of food issues, I agree that it would be a waste of a product that could have so much potential in other areas.
I have been looking through my research notes and have found recipes for beauty products. A lot of them would not be appropriate as they do not contain preservatives and are designed to just be made and used (or stored in the fridge for 7 days). As far as beauty products are concerned, it would have to be a long term goal as there is so much involved in setting up something like that. Hygiene being a BIG problem. Even if you add preservatives, the beginning product needs to be as sterile as possible to ensure the shelf life of the product.
I will do some more research though as there are ways of using the avocado oil itself, with an antioxidant such as vitamin E added to stop it going rancid. Bath oils are a good one, or an antiwrinkle oil treatment. I will let you know what I find.
Supplying the oil to the beauty industry is probably a more viable option if this is an area we would want to get into. Most of the oil I have found from my suppliers comes from California. I am guessing (and it's only a guess) that it is probably heavily subsidised and would be hard to compete with. I would need to do some more research in that area.
I have not even started on the food side of things. I KNOW there is a lot of potential in that arena for the fruit itself and the oil.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for the info and yes please do gather some research!
I am by no means an expert, but I have seen a number of products sold that say preservative free such as avocado body butter. A simple home-made recipe lasts about 2 months. I don't know much about preservatives and whether or not they are needed, but more and more companies are opting for organic products that have no preservatives.
Also, what about selling whatever products in Kenya rather than exporting for sale elsewhere? I noticed while in Kenya and I think Eric commented on it, that there is a growing middle class in Kenya and a greater demand for beauty products. Maybe there is a way to sell things locally or nationally. Doesn't have to be beauty products either. As you say it may be hard to compete with larger and possibly subsidized companies.
There are so many options, but I think the community has to decide what they want to start with and where they want to head. They may have to start small and expand as they learn more and refine their techniques.
Barb
Hi Barb,
The avocado body butter you talk about will last up to 2 months, but that is only if no bacteria is introduced or the product is not in an environment conducive to bacteria growth (refrigeration will prevent this). Unfortunately any natural product made without preservatives of some sort will have a limited shelf life, especially if it is not manufactured in a sterile environment in the first place.
Most organic products still use preservatives, but as people are becoming aware of the dangers that most preservatives present,there is a market for more natural preservatives (grapeseed extract, plantaserve Q are more natural alternatives. Vitamin E or rosemary extract in a mix will prevent the oil from going rancid). Avocado oil is rich in vitamin E so I am guessing (not being an expert) that it would take longer for it to go rancid than other oils. If a product is oil based it will have a longer shelf life than a water based one as bacteria need the water.
This is why I got into making my own products as I was having reactions to a lot of products and also was horrified at some of the ingredients in everyday products.
I think selling the products in Kenya would be the best place to start. Even if it is just the oil to start off with. I am sure there are companies in Kenya who manufacture products that could use avocado oil. I do have many basic recipes that could be made up, but I am not sure what the regulations are like in Kenya. In Australia they are quite strict on what you can and can't do with beauty products (even though they allow petrochemicals and ingredients that would cause most to have nightmares if they knew what they really were).
I think you misunderstood me. I was saying the avocado oil used in beauty products around the world was from California, not the products themselves. I just meant that if you were going to sell the oil itself to beauty manufacturers around the world it may be difficult to compete with subsidised, developed countries (difficult, but not impossible) :)
As you say, it will be up to the community to decide if, what, how, or even whether they would like to proceed and whatever is decided, we will find a way for them to make it happen! :)
If they decide to go down the road of manufacturing beauty products then we can investigate the Kenyan laws regarding the use of preservatives and different ingredients etc.
If they start out small and find that there really is a market, they may be able to find a manufacturing company in Kenya who would already have the equipment and may be prepared to do the manufacturing, packaging etc. for them and they just distribute it. There are many options whichever path they choose.
As for the cooking side..... I am sure there would be a market for locally grown and manufactured avocado oil. There are many health benefits to it, and if the marketing was pushed in that direction I am sure it would be a popular item.
There is so much potential for the local community to generate income from this source, especially if as Eric says, it is one of only two places in Kenya where they grow. Just what they need, a niche market!!
I will continue to follow this with great interest and will definitely keep researching for you. I am learning heaps that is useful to me at the same time.... it's a win/win situation! :)
Didn't realise it was THAT long!!!!
Looks like there are already people producing the oil in Kenya which suggests there is a market...
Organic avocado oil production in Nairobi
http://www.olivado.com/Kenya_Diary.htm
(these guys are having trouble finding enough avocadoes to meet demand!)
And a USAID-funded programme to assist avocado producers in selling their avocados to three relatively new oil producers in Kenya
http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/August/20060801150653AKl...
Mary
You are a gem Mary!
This is an immediate opportunity for income generation.
Olivado is a Fair Trade company which means that they pay a fair price for the food (not try to rip off struggling producers). This is wonderful news, as it means that if the community at Kabondo were to grow their avocados they could start selling them to Olivado for more than they are probably getting now. I noticed on their website that they claim up to 48% more than most of the brokers. It is also being recognised by some pretty major players in the international cuisine field
The second story appears to be quite a successful project as well. The main difference I can see between the two projects is that Olivado is "Certified Organic", which means that there will be restrictions on how the Avocados are grown. They will need to be organically grown.
The second project I noticed does not appear to be organic as they mention teams of sprayers etc.
Of course, my own preference would be they choose to grow organically, but that is not up to me! :)
Either way, the community has options whether they decide to go organic or not. There is obviously a market in Kenya (and worldwide). It is looking very promising :)
Hello everyone,
it is really very motivating to see everyone contributing to make this project a reality. I am sure we will be able to make it happen and look forward to seeing how we make it a reality.
Have a great end of the weekend,
Raul
You might want to consider testing out jatropha too. It looks like there's growing demand for jatropha oil for biofuel. A Google search for "buy jatropha" yielded a number of hits:
http://www.tradekey.com/kb-jatropha/
http://www.alibaba.com/buyeroffers/Jatropha_Seeds.html
Came across a book called Avocado growing in Kenya
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/af1/index.php?id=20&rectype=&cate...
Its possible to download but is a big file (34MB).
Comes from an organisation called teh World Agroforestry Centre http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org who are based in Kenya. They may be a direct source of information, and/or be able to put Eric in contact with others who can assist.
Contact details http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/af1/index.php?id=26
I have mixed feelings on biofuel - seens to me that land should not be used for that until an area is already producing sufficient food to be able to feed local people. But here is a little info about using avocado oil (and other oils) as fuel in Kenya http://www.biotech360.com/biotechArticleDisplay.jsp?biotechArticleId=100...
I don't know when it was published, but suggests there is not that much of a market in Kenya at the moment.
Mary
I also think the avocado should be use in other better ways but let's see how the discussions evolve.
Raul
P.S. I will download the file and have a look
Hello Everyone,
It feels like we have already collected enough information to move into the next stage. We could probably now start discussing this information and making a list of the final options to then decide what is feasible locally and sustainable in the long term?
What do you guys think?
Anyone interested in organising the information that we have all posted?
What do you think Barb and Eric, should we move forward now or were you wanting to wait a bit more?
Any other ideas?
Look forward to hearing more from you all,
Raul
Hi Raul,
I think we have enough information to move ahead, but I will let Eric decide.
I can start a new task for organizing the information, if that would help?
Barb