MOVE over virgin coconut oil. Make way for virgin pili nut oil!
An agrarian reform beneficiary in Daraga, Albay has recently found a “gold mine”
in manually extracted virgin pili nut oil he himself developed painstakingly for six
months shortly after attending a government-sponsored pili nut food processing
course early last year.
Victor Ramon Goyena, 50, a civil engineering graduate, said the temperature plays a
very important role in maintaining the nutritional potency of the oil.
“Only when no alteration of its nutrient composition can we claim it as ‘virgin oil,’” he
said, adding that it took him six months of experimentation before he finally perfected
in October last year the extraction of virgin pili nut oil from newly harvested nuts.
Goyena said he got hooked into this undertaking after he was invited by the provincial
office of the Department of Agriculture, one of CARP’s implementing agencies, to
attend a series of trainings on pili nut food processing early last year.
Goyena, who was awarded with a three-hectare farm under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in April 2008, said the oil is a good skin moisturizer
as it helps smoothen ageing skin and soften dry and rough skin.
“The oil is odourless and is easily absorbed by our skin. I personally use it as skin moisturizer and it makes my skin glow and healthy”, said Goyena, who is married to the former Jocelyn Faustino, with whom he has two sons, both in their late teens.
Lately, he also found that virgin pili nut oil is good at enhancing hair growth.
Traditionally, pili nut oil is being used by local folks to treat skin diseases and as de-
worming agent for poultry and livestock.
Goyena is currently selling his virgin pili nut oil in 20 and 30 milliliter bottles in the
Bicol region. He is working on hitting the national market anytime within the next two
years.
He said he is planning to develop the three-hectare farm awarded to him under CARP into “Pili Park” to showcase various pili nut products to visiting students, farmers,
tourists and prospective entrepreneurs like him. Today, he has 350 pili nut trees in his
farm and is expecting them to bear fruits within four to five years.
Albay provincial agrarian reform officer Salve C. Tongco said that Goyena, with his newfound product, is a potential nominee for the “Most Outstanding ARB” award, and his virgin pili nut oil a top contender for the “rookie product” category in the 2011
Agraryo Trade Fair in June. -30- PAS, DAR
