Our Traditional Method of Processing Palm oil

^{Capture with Infinix X657C, Edited with PhotoStudio}

Getting Palm Oil From Palm Fruits

You are highly welcome once again to my blog where I try to help you persive the sights and sounds of Akwa Ibom state and it's environs. Today I will be taking you to a shade in the village where palm oil is processed. The local people call it "Afe eyop" translated the palm oil mill.
It's a plant where locally made machineries are installed to aid the various stages of palm oil processing.
The plant itself is a source of revenue for it's owners. When the palm fruits is in it's season, the meal is operated day and night, a process that starts with an economic tree called the oil palm tree.
^{Capture with NokiaC30 - under the shade of palm trees}

The Oil Palm Tree

The climate and soil of Akwa Ibom state make palm trees grow every were, only a few areas have palm trees that were intentionally planted, most of the palm trees growing in my area grows as a weed and if not uprooted, becomes an economic tree in a space of five to seven years. Most of the palm trees we harvest today were saplings in the days of our grand fathers.
^{Capture with NokiaC30 - They grow tall and everywhere}

Some palm trees grow to hights of about 12 to 15 meters and regarding the local technique used in getting up the palm tree to harvest it's bunch is a subject for another post. Folk-law demands that a total of 200 Steem must be paid to the village before placing an axe at the Base of any palm tree. And once the tree is down, it produces wine for the workers and wood for the builders.

Harvesting and starting the process

A tree with three bunches that weighs up to 25kg each is good harvest and the harvesters are men who are expert at climbing. To avoid theft, the village will ban the harvest of palm fruits till an assigned date called "iwoko Eyop" when the ban is lifted and you can go in and harvest your palm fruits.
The harvested bunch is cut into bits by a skilled hand using a machete which hasten decay and makes it possible to detach the fruit from it's stalk.

^{Source - The palm fruit bunche}

It's Time To Visit The Oil Mill

Boiling
At the mill, there are pots for boiling large quantity of Palm fruits, this helps break down some enzymes in the palm fruits that release the oil. The fire is fueled by dry palm tree leaves that saves as firewood. Water for boiling the fruits was fetched from the near by stream.
^{Capture with Infinix X657C - The boiling pots}

Pounding
A fully local mill will use a mortar and pestel to crush the cooked palm fruits. With well feed young men standing round the mortar and wielding the pestel, they will skillfully crush the palm fruits into a pulp. This Mill is using a locally made device driven by a diesel engine to pound the fruits. Fueling the diesel engine cast way less compared to fueling the young men's belly for the same job.
Once the boiled fruits is scooped out of the boiling pot, it is placed in the pounding device for pounding.

^{Capture with Infinix X657C - Pounding device}

Pressing
The pulp coming out of the pounding machine is transfered to the press that squeezes out the oil from the pulp. The oil gurges out and is channeled into containers. The press is operated by hands, it has perforations all round and a treaded iron at the center. When the top cover is put in place and a nut with arms is screwed down the tread by turning it round. The cover is punched down squeezing in the pulp.
Before this technology was introduced, the pulp was squeezed using bags attached to a stick and the oil is wringed out.

^{Capture with Infinix X657C - The Oil Press}

The Separator
Once the oil stops flowing, the content is removed from the press and placed in a device that sorts out the seeds from the chaff. The Separator is also powered by the same diesel engine. The seedless pulp may be reintroduced into the press for further oil extraction while the seeds may be sold out. Times have changed greatly, in the past, this process was totally done by hands.
^{Capture with Infinix X657C - Separating by hand}

Packaging

The extracted oil is then packaged into 20 liter containers and moved to the market, we were able to make 19 containers making it 380 Liters or pour red oil, that was a good result.

^{Source - Packaged for sale}

Conclusion

• Dose your climate and soil allow for the growth of palm trees in your area?
• I will love to know, do your people have a better technology for extracting this oil?
• Do you cook with palm oil in your area?
  I will really love to know how similar or different we really are.

If you have loved any thing about this post, you are invited to please visit my post again as I intend to provide you with more insight into the lives and people of Akwa Ibom state.