biochar, nuts, local economy and the tengkawang factory

Willie sent this to me:

Dis-embedded for those of us without the right plugin:
Solutions from the Jungle: The Tengkawang Factory

Very nice ! Thanks Willie!
I wonder if the tallow product could also be used as a diesel fuel replacement?
I wonder if the smoke from the retort could be used as gas for running engines, like from a gasifier?

Amazing!

Thanks for sharing. Great to see someone use logic and solve problems for communities!

Thanks for a look at yet another complex, productive "systems feeding systems" project of Willie Smits.

At Permaculture Voices in 2014, he told us about his sugar palm project, which also creates value from diverse forest. I wonder if the two crops can coexist, or if they require different conditions?

this is great. we need more info. who owns the factory? who paid for it? are the villagers employees or owners? could this model work for an intentional community in north america? what about the ethanol plant...are these separate projects? i'd like to see an in depth analysis of the economics of these projects and how we might apply the principles to our own circumstances.

There is a loan from investors to be paid with profits. Additional returns will be used to complete projects that the community need. 450 farmers supply nuts.

http://www.masarang.nl/en/news/index.jsp?USMID=201&newsitem=667

Thanks for that link! Looking at the home page of Stichting Masarang, they have a new project making soap from the nut oil and coconut oil, using lye made from ashes.



The white soap is all coconut, the yellow soap is combined.



Hey Paul, tell Willy that we want to buy that soap! OK, I know YOU don't use soap in the shower, but I'm sure hoping you use soap on your hands!

Here are the 4 master students from the University of Technology in Delft, where they are studying Industrial Design Engineering, who came out from the Netherlands to Masarang as part of "Design Without Borders."

Your welcome Julia,
Thanks for elaborating on the topic and teaching me how to make a more thorough post.
I hope to contribute more to the forums here as it has proven to be a great resource and I am proud to be part of it.
Chad