Twenty-seven women of Wailevu Village in Cakaudrove are benefitting from their virgin coconut oil (VCO) factory.

This was confirmed by Integrated Human Resource Development Programme (IHRDP) officer at the Commissioner Northern’s office, Aslam Khan, on Sunday.

Mr Khan said the factory was being used for filtration of virgin coconut oil and labelling of its bottles.

However, he said, other activities could not be performed as yet because the power supply had not been connected to the factory.

“The village has power supply and the women are able to scrap coconuts using the electricity in the village,” Mr Khan said.

“A letter has been written to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking waiver of the refundable deposit for the transformer installation and we’re awaiting a reply.”

Mr Khan said on average, the women’s group had been producing 60 litres of virgin coconu oil per month worth $1200 and they had benefitted from the project.

He said Cousteau Resort in Savusavu had been a fixed market for the women.

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