EJC Company Limited is promoting traditional methods of processing the coconut oil in Ghana. Ghana has taken steps to restore the livelihood of coconut farmers with the development of disease tolerant coconut varieties. The Cape Saint Paul’s Wilt Disease has caused massive destruction of plantations and wreaked havoc to some coconut farmers in parts of the country. This necessitated the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to mark the 2011 World Food Day Celebrations with a coconut planting exercise. Now, the rehabilitation effort to salvage the coconut industry comes at a time the use of coconut oil is gaining popularity on the international market. Chief Executive Officer of EJC, Mary Assumpta Hubert, describes coconut as a brilliant fruit with beneficial derivatives. “The coconut tree actually is called ‘the tree of life’ because of its thousands and thousands of uses and benefits that we can get from that one particular tree”, she noted. According to her, what makes the fruit “extra-ordinary” and “miraculous” is the oil from the coconut, which has been described as “the healthiest oil on earth”. It is very rich in saturated fat, brilliant cooking oil and cook for the hair and skin, when used as gel. “When you put it on your skin, it quickly dissolves into the skin and it just makes it soft and smooth”. EJC hopes to work closely with farmers in to grow organic coconut – the company currently gets the raw materials from Nzema in the Western Region. Mrs. Hubert is keen on producing Virgin Coconut Oil through traditional hand-made methods, instead of the machine processed “cold-press” processing. Her focus is to ensure the quality of products are comparable to the ones found in Philippines, which has one of the best gold-labeled production of coconut oil in the word. The Mary Virgin Coconut Oil products was introduced on the Ghanaian market at the maiden edition of Luv Fm’s Beauty and Bridal Fair in Kumasi. Mrs Hubert is excited at the opportunity to introduce the product on the local market. “It’s a great way for me to penetrate the market and to let people know that it is a brilliant product on its own and it has no limits… I’m looking for people to actually recognize coconut; drink coconut water, eat coconut meat, and most importantly just use coconut oil”, she said.