(introduction...)
In most rural areas of developing countries, the village is not
just a conglomeration of huts and houses but still a functioning community with
traditional cultural values and, to a certain extent - common economic
interests. Within a village, people might often or regularly come together to do
work which is more easily or more effectively done in a sizable group than
individually or with family members.
Referring to oil processing at village level, the need either
for a specialized trade or for the people to cooperate in groups arises when the
quantities to be processed become larger. In West Africa, one comes across
groups, processing oilpalm fruit, mainly consisting of women. On the Indian
subcontinent, one will find the village oil man, operating his animal drawn
gahni for the processing of oil seeds. These systems are generally operated on~a
service basis as so-called “service mills", processing the rawmaterials for
the client against payment in cash or in kind:
In case the quantities concerned guarantee enough supply,
investments in equipment with improved oil recovery or with a labour saving
effect can become profitable. The ownership of this improved technology is
usually in the hands of individuals, but in the framework of development
efforts, self-help groups, pre-cooperatives and more formal cooperatives have
been encouraged to establish oil processing units.
However, as mechanized equipment tends to be dominated by men, a
shift from processing activities from many women, who are the traditional
processors, to a few men can be the result. To make it possible for women to
stay in business, the emphasis in recent years in improving traditional
technologies has been put on hand-operated equipment.
Below, the existing and possible systems for the processing of
oil crops at the village level are
presented.
