Get to Know J-Palm Liberia
Started in 2013 by Liberian founder Mahmud Johnson, J-Palm Liberia works to improve production efficiency and sales for smallholder wild palm collectors in rural communities by providing access to modern, more efficient processing technologies. J-Palm manages and operates the mills in partnership with rural communities. Oil palm processors within a certain radius harvest palm fruit from communally owned trees and use the machines to process palm oil at no up-front cost.
In addition to purchasing palm oil, J-Palm sustains this business model by purchasing palm kernels (formerly discarded oil seeds, a by-product of palm oil production) from the farmers, creating an additional source of income from a resource that was previously treated as waste. J-Palm then extracts PKO (palm kernel oil) from the palm kernels at their factory and sells the PKO internationally, including to Pacha, where it could be made into a regenerative organic bar of soap!
Mini-Mills, Big Impact
Whole Planet has supported J-Palm Liberia since 2021 through 0% interest loans totaling $238,000 for the purchasing and distribution of mini-mills which are currently placed in approximately 100 communities in rural Liberia. These mini-mills reduce the processing time of wild palm by 65% and improve palm oil yield by 53% for the smallholder farmer. Each mill can be used by 100 smallholder palm collectors. The new mills funded by WFMF can increase productivity, and therefore the incomes of up to 9,000 farmers and ownership of the mills are passed on to the community.
Recently, our Board President and Chairperson, Alyssa Vescio, sat down with Mahmud at a Whole Foods Market event to learn more about their process, impact and future goals.
Watch the Q&A recording:
Transforming Palm Oil Production
Over 35% of Liberia's palm fruit go un-harvested every year. During processing, smallholders suffer an additional 50% oil loss due to inefficient manual processing techniques. Get to know more about palm oil production and J-Palm Liberia’s approach here.