Aluan - Make Good With Coconut.

Project 2018-03-09 16:48:20 +1300

It's time to make good - with a jar of the finest & rarest, certified organic, sustainable raw coconut oil.

From a rare island dialect, āluān is all about your trajectory. It’s a reminder to keep an eye on ourselves and to make good in a world of tricky, unsustainable business.

With a premium, cold-pressed and entirely raw production process, we’re maximising the value added to coconuts in the same place they’re grown, supporting communities who depend on coconuts for their livelihoods. By disobeying a little and interfering just enough we’re protecting oceans and rainforests in unconventional ways.
 

IN A NUTSHELL

āluān's sustainability story begins with failure: Founders Jane Dunlop and Luke Swainson, (New Zealanders from Taranaki and Manawatu), learned first-hand that global environmental projects they were involved with would end abruptly once aid money ran out. This not only damaged relationships with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, but the environment too. Getting support for ambitious not-for-profit partnerships was also challenging, especially for politicians who needed to show economic growth and job creation.

We've come to realise the absolute importance of all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social AND economic. We need an integrated approach. Our solution is to have a stake in the local economy to prove that for-profit ventures really can have a positive impact. They can make good.

 
THE PROBLEM – R.I.P to The Jungle Book.

Living and working around Sumatra, we see first-hand that forests and wildlife are disappearing. Fuelled mostly by the ongoing demand for unsustainably sourced palm oil, we risk of losing the cast of The Jungle Book  – tigers, elephants, orang-utan, rhinos.

We understand that a lack of work opportunities forces people into extractive industries as people with limited options still have to make ends meet. We're providing alternative options, and set out to prove that sustainable business is possible. If it’s possible here, it’s possible everywhere!

OUR SOLUTION – Visible farming with positive environmental impact.

We’re on Simeulue Island, producing the finest, rarest, raw, virgin coconut oil. We’ve gained organic certification for 10 remote Islands around Simeulue, plus additional mainland plantations owned by small-scale farming families.

We're weaved ourselves throughout the entire supply chain so we can tell each coconut's story, from tree-to-you.

We are:

• Replanting existing, under-utilised land so no rainforest is affected
• Maximising the value-add to coconuts, supporting farming families at the origin
• Utilising every part of the coconut to achieve zero waste
• Keeping eyes on turtle poachers by managing plantations of surrounding islands
• Implementing GPS traceability so that we know exactly where our coconuts come from (by comparing this to satellite imagery we can ensure we don’t source from areas of cleared rainforest).
• Developing an experiential English language environment school at the origin

WHERE WILL YOUR PLEDGE GO?

Your contribution is critical: you’ll enable us to launch our first bottled coconut oil and connect remote Simeulue Island with New Zealand, and the world.

You'll enable us to:

• Purchase recyclable and reusable jars for bottling
• Buy whole coconuts at premium prices from small-scale farming families
• Monitor and protect critically endangered turtle populations from poachers
• Support the establishment of a hands-on environmental school
• Pilot a bioenergy system to start powering our factory from coconut waste

A TRANSPARENT IMPACT TRAJECTORY.

We measure our impact against leading international standards (IRIS). We're brand new on the scene, but have completed baseline assessments in order to set a benchmark from day one. Our policy is for radical transparency, we'll share our stories with you - even if there are a couple of  uncomfortable ones! It’s all learning. We believe openness is transformative - its where the best learning comes from.

THE LOFTIER GOALS - Bioenergy and zero waste

Our applied technologist and Bioengineer, Angie, is building partnerships and designing sytems to convert, husks, spent shells, leaves and retired trunks into bioenergy. First to power our factory and then, the entire island.

That’s us turning coconut waste and byproduct into energy to provide sustainable electricity to the 100,000 population of Simeulue -  just a little more appealing than the Island's current diesel generator!

WHAT’S UP FOR GRABS?

 

 
THANKS FROM THE ALUAN CREW

 WANT MORE?

If you’re looking to invest in something good, get in touch with us direct at [email protected]

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