Press Release Detail

Abhay Chaudhary and son, Averyl are greatly involved in a community partnership arrangement with the Yavusa Navitilevu Youth Club in Tailevu to help them create economic opportunities.

Businessman, Abhay Chaudhary is on a mission to invest in non-timber forest products in order to assist local communities, particularly young people, with economic prospects for a sustainable future.

And he is achieving this through candlenut (sikeci) farming with the youths from the Yavusa Navitilevu from Veinuqa, Namalata in Tailevu.

Mr Chaudhary and his son, Averyl are greatly involved in this community partnership arrangement with the youth club, who belong to three mataqalis. He believes that entrepreneurs like himself can contribute to the Government's emphasis on youth development programmes to address concerns regarding unemployment and economic empowerment.
Today, the youths have 17,000 candlenut trees on the ground, which are around two and a half years old in an area of 15-acres. They have also planted around 100 teak trees and intend to plant more.
Candlenut (Aleurites moluccanus) is locally known as sikeci, toto, lauci, tuitui, qereqere and waiwai. Within three years of planting, the seeds may be collected and processed for oil which could be used for a range of purposes including cosmetics, medicinal and other uses such as cooking, preparation of paints, varnishes, wood polish and linoleum, soap manufacture, among others.
Additionally and importantly, the trees are not necessarily felled for wood and timber products, but they can also be part of Fiji’s carbon trade, thus providing additional income to the youths who farm them, providing them a revenue generation stream to improve their lives and livelihoods and that of their families. 
"Apart from the money made from selling the mature candlenuts, the youth who are also landowners and even their elderly can also participate in the carbon trading space and earn an income. It is an opportunity to get paid to keep the trees in the ground and I won’t be getting a cent out of that but them," Mr Chaudhary said.
He added that there was a lot of demand for candlenut oil overseas due to its qualities, which were rated the best for cosmetics and with medicinal properties. He claims that the candlenut sector is a billion dollar global enterprise.
"In Australia and Hawaii, candlenut cultivation is a multibillion dollar industry that contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of both nations. We want to accomplish that in Fiji as well, but in order to process and grow our market, we need a steady flow of candlenuts,” Mr Chaudhary said.
In addition to this farm with youths, he said they have another 50-acre farm in Waidalice that has 25,000 candlenut trees on the ground owned by Keresoni and Susana Ramuwai and supported by his son Averyl.
With the support from the Ministry of Forestry, Averyl, who owns Averyl (Fiji) manufactures candlenut charcoal soap, body oil and sugar scrub, dilo soap and oil and other value-adding products at his little factory in Ba.
The father-son entrepreneurs not only sell their products locally but have been marketing them to Australia, New Zealand and China through a fully locally owned Fijian company, Loaloa Naturals.

Empowering youths
Yavusa Navitilevu youth adviser Semisi Ravutu strongly supports the partnership understanding between Mr Chaudhary and the youths as he said they have big dreams for a bright future. He had advised the youths to engage in farming projects in order to productively utilise idle land owned by their mataqalis. There are around 28 youth members.
Following a visit to the village by the late former Minister for Forestry, Hon. Osea Naiqamu, during a tree planting awareness, he advised them to plant candlenut as it would benefit them and their future generations.
"The goal of our project is to grow sikeci trees to improve our quality of life and generate revenue. We made the decision to plant on the vacant land that was returned to us,” Mr Ravutu said.
“Additionally, through the Ministry of Forestry's initiative to plant 30 million trees in 15 years, we are helping the Government meet its tree planting goal.
“Planting started in March 2020, and when the first wave of COVID-19 hit our shores restricting movement, the youths committed themselves extensively to the planting programme.”
According to Mr Ravutu, the club has decided that members will build their homes from the proceeds during the first three years of harvesting.

Replanting, crop diversification and carbon trading

Mr Chaudhary's pilot candlenut farm project in Telau, Tailevu, was recently visited by a group of government officials led by the Ministry of Forestry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Pene Baleinabuli.
To maximise impact, the Ministry is encouraging farmers and landowners to prioritise restoration techniques that create the most benefit for rural development, biodiversity enhancement, climate resilience and a myriad of ecosystem services. 
For example, landowners to grow native trees and non-forest timber species alongside their crops can improve biodiversity, sequester carbon and boost income — ensuring trees remain in the ground for the long run.
"By integrating trees and crops, you can produce higher yields, leading to greater self-sufficiency, which may also offer the potential to sell the extra crops while you wait for your candlenut trees to mature," Mr Baleinabuli said.
This was evident on the Telau farm where the youths have planted cassava and duruka in between the rows of candlenut trees.
He discussed the Ministry's emphasis on research on minor forest products and non-timber forest products with the landowners and youths in order to develop economic opportunities for the communities. 
He mentioned the abundance of fruit and nut trees in Fiji that have the potential to grow for both domestic and international markets, such as candlenut and dilo.
Mr Baleinabuli urged them to work together to achieve their common objective of prosperity and sustainability.
"I kindly request that you cooperate with this investor, Mr Abhay, on the pilot project so that you can experience firsthand the benefits of using your land to generate revenue. You will gain from this today, as well as for future generations,” Mr Baleinabuli said.
"To the elders, I thank you for allowing your young men and women to be part of this pilot project. The advantage of planting candlenut is that in a short span of time, which is within three years, you can start selling the nuts for processing. And from research, the same trees can survive for up to more than 60 years. 
Furthermore, you can actively participate in Fiji’s forest emission reduction programme.
"We are hopeful that these minor products will boost the forestry sector’s economic contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product."
According to Mr Baleinabuli, the programme will provide an alternative income stream for youths via carbon (monetary) payments.
Following discussions with the Ministry officials, the youths have also expressed their interest in participating in carbon trading by planting more trees that they will be able to conserve and sustainably manage.
Mr Ravutu said they agreed to this, seeing the benefits it would bring to them and the community as a whole.
"Involving our young people in such initiatives helps them stay out of trouble, improve their standard of living, and shift their perspective to prioritise entrepreneurship. We appreciate the Government's ongoing assistance and stable supply of planting material, which we receive through the Forestry Ministry," Mr Ravutu added.

FACT BOX: CANDLENUT 

Candlenut tree has both medicinal as well as edible uses;
·         Candlenut oil/soap used has been used for skin and hair treatment.
·     Improved digestive 
·     Relieve of fungal infections
·     Reduced heart disease risk
·     Overcome insomnia
·     Unleash the constipation
·     Medicine fever in children
·     Healthier joints and stronger bones
·      Treat tooth ache
·     Culinary uses
·     Heals insect bites
·     Bigger muscles and reduced weight
·     Almost all parts of the candlenut are useful for human use.