Most of the coconut oil produced in the early years of the coconut industry in Seychelles was prepared using the ox-driven copra mill, locally known as moulin kopra.
A brief Historical background to our coconut oil industry
It was as long ago as 1790, when Louis Jean-Baptiste Philogene de Malavois (1748-1827) was the commandant of the Seychelles, that the commercial importance of coconuts began to be exploited. Small quantities of oil were made for local consumption. With the abolition of slavery in 1835 and without slaves, the labour-intensive sugar industry, which was, until then, the main export from the Seychelles, could not be sustained. This was because the former slaves were not prepared to continue heavy labour for low wages.
The plantations owners consequently switched to the less labour-intensive farming of coconuts; these became the islands dominant crop and source of export earnings from the 1840s onwards and by the 1860s coconut oil was virtually the only export. In 1840, 300,000 litres of coconut oil were exported to Mauritius. In 1880, 18,993 hectoliters of coconut oil were exported. By then, the landowners, who were mostly descendants of the French Settlers, had established vast coconut estates on their properties. Between 1894 and 1904, 141,355 hectoliters of oil were exported.
The growth of the Calorifer and coconut mill
In the 1950s and 1960s almost every village in the inner islands and almost all outlying islands had a calorifer also known as copra kiln or kalorifer to dry the coconut flesh or kernel into copra. In fact, in 1932 there were approximately 50 calorifers, and 55 ox-powered coconut oil mills, or moulin kopra, in operation. By 1940, there were a total of 275 coconut oil mills and 50 copra kilns or calorifers.
Unfortunately, all of the copra mills, except the one at L’Union Estate on La Digue, have gone extinct.
In this post we will discuss how the traditional copra mill was made and how it operates.
What is the copra mill – Moulin Kopra?
The traditional copra mill –Moulin Kopra- is just like a gigantic pestle and mortar which turns copra into coconut oil. It is driven by an ox, and sometimes by mules or donkeys, that goes round in circles around the ‘mortar’ or bucket and moves the pestle in such a way that it is made to perform a movement of circumduction (the action of turning anything on its axis), and whilst doing so, to rotate against the sides of the mortar, where the crushing process takes place.
Origin of the Copra Mill
The Copra mill is an adaptation of the wooden Ghani, or chekku, which is a traditional oil press used in India from about 300BC. It was widely used in the regions of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar which had cultural ties with India.
How was the Ox-Driven Copra Mill made?
Locating a large tree trunk
The first thing that the property administrator or landowner did was to search his property for the largest hardwood tree, with a very large stem, that has roots that are well implanted in the ground.
The preferred trees were the ‘Takamaka’ and the ‘Badamier’. The takamaka (calophyllum inophyllum) is a tree that grows along the lower plateau of all the islands of the Seychelles. The name could have derived from the word tacamahac which is a word used for any of the several resinous substances used in incense or ointments. The tree does in fact produce a very thick resin or sticky latex that was once used to caulk pirogues. The badamier tree (Terminalia Catappa), also known as Indian Almond tree, also grows along the coast. They are both hard wood and do not rot that easily.
There were two other trees that produce hardwood that grow more inland that were also used. These were the tamarind Tree (Tamarindus indica)and the jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus).
Preparing the Tree Trunk
There were two main methods of preparing the tree trunk or stump to make the mortar. The first method was to prepare the mortar on location.
The tree was cut down with about one meter of trunk projecting above ground. The whole area on the ground around the tree was cleared of all debris, cleanly swept and levelled. A large roof covered with latanier leaves was then erected above the stump. The roof served two purposes. Firstly, it provided the shade for the work that was going to be performed in the area and secondly, to protect the stump from direct sunlight that could dry the stump too quickly resulting in the stump splitting. Sometimes, to prevent the stump from splitting, the local blacksmith would create a steel band that was fixed tightly round the top end of the stump.
The second method was to cut the tree down as close to the ground as possible, clean the trunk of all branches and trim it to about 2 meters long. The trunk was then carted close to where the calorifer was located. It was left to season under the shade for a few weeks. In the meantime, a large pit was dug in the ground and when the trunk was deemed seasoned enough, it was placed vertically in it and cemented in position. As described above, a large roof was then constructed above the stump in readiness for the next stage.
Excavating the mortar
The next step was to excavate a bucket-shaped cavity in the stump to create the mortar. This task was quite a delicate one that could not be rushed and had to be done with a lot patience. The excavation took days because of the lack of appropriate tools. Some of the tools that were used included the adze or lerminet or herminettes in French. The adze is a tool similar to an axe and has an arched blade at right angle to the handle. Another tool that was also used was the gouge, or gouz, which is a type of chisel with a concave blade.
Sometimes, a small coal fire was even lit in the cavity and the charred bits continuously removed deepening the cavity. This was a closely watched activity in case the fire burns too close to the sides resulting in a wall that was too thin, therefore too weak to bear the required pressure from the spar.
Locating and Fitting the attachments
The next step was to search the forest for three thick strong timber poles. One to be used as, what we will call, a ‘spar’, which, in Seychelles, is called a kalou. The second one to be used as a type of outrigger which is locally called lafles. And the third one, locally known as kapison, to fit on top of the spar, and connected to the outrigger by means of chains.
The Spar or Kalou
The spar or Kalou was about 3 meters high; all bark was removed, and the bottom end was rounded. The top end was tapered to fit into a socket that was dug at the top of the Kapison. Once the excavation of the mortar or pilon was completed, the spar was lifted, and the rounded end placed into the mortar and was made to incline forcibly to one side by means of the outrigger. The word kalou derives from the Malagasy word ‘akalo.’
The Outrigger or Lafles
The outrigger or lafles is a horizontal piece of timber which is usually the wider that the other two. Lafles derives from the French ‘la flèche’ which is described as ‘la perche horizontal d’un moulin’, meaning the horizontal beam of a mill. The outrigger is at time also referred to as the load beam. The top was flattened to accommodate any weight that was required to achieve maximum crushing pressure. It was also made from a very long and thick piece of plank, locally known as madriye (Fr. madrier).
It is weighted down at its extremity with a heavy stone, bags of sand or even the seated operators. It is supported by a chain attached to the bottom end of the Kapison. The chain is long enough to support the weight of the outrigger hence minimizing the load on the ox. The bulk of the weight of the outrigger is ultimately born by the spar.
The inner end of the outrigger was fitted with a wide u-shaped jaw, which engages in a collar scored in the tree stump or mortar just above its point of emergence from the ground.
The kapison
The kapison derives from the French ‘capuchon’ which, among other things, is a term used to describe the hood of a coat. It was slightly curved and had a bulbous rounded top, the end of which a socket was dug, vaguely resembling a hood. It is in that socket that the top end of the spar was fitted. The Kapison was extended halfway towards the outrigger to which it was linked by a chain.
The location where the chain was fixed to the outrigger was calculated so that it sits at the right inclination to maximise the pressure on the copra and minimizing any lateral pressure on the ox. The chain was held in place by a piece of hard wood that was bolted on the outrigger. The chain made for easy detachment when the pestle had to be removed for servicing.
Drilling the oil drain hole
Finally, a small hole was drilled or bored laterally, so as to reach the bottom of the mortar, and into this was thrust a small bamboo tube to act as an oil ‘tap’. This hole was drilled using a manual auger, locally known as teryer (Fr. tarrière).
Cementing the Mortar
Lastly, a small circular concrete platform was built around the mortar to ensure that soil does not get into the newly ground oil. A depression was created in the cement below the ‘tap’ to fit a small bucket in which the oil was collected.
How is the mill Operated?
As mentioned earlier, there is a Copra Mill or Moulin Koko that is still operating at L’Union Estate on La Digue island.
Once the mill is ready to operate, broken up copra, also known as milling copra, is thrown inside the mortar.
The ox, which is yoked to the outer end of the outrigger, is set to work. The ox moves radially around the mortar dragging around the outrigger arrangement which, at the same time, turns the upright pestle round on its long axis, as it presses heavily against the sides of the mortar exerting lateral pressure on the upper chest of the mortar, first pulverizing the copra and then crushing out its oil.
There are usually two persons involved in the operation. One would be located next to the mortar to constantly feed the mortar with fresh cut copra and to push back the crushed copra into the mortar at regular interval. The other person, most of the time an apprentice or a house boy, locally known as boy, either walks close to the ox or sits on the outrigger. His main purpose is to occasionally find ways to accelerate the otherwise lazy motion of the ox and at times to add extra weight on the outrigger if required.
We used to sit on the outrigger and enjoyed getting dizzy!
Collecting the oil
The resulting trickle of coconut oil –delwil koko– is collected from the ‘tap’ in a bucket. The oil that has a characteristic coconut odour is then filtered through a thick cloth to remove all impurities. It was then transferred into drums or jerry cans for export or filled in bottles for local consumption. One ton of copra (produced from 6,000 to 7,000 coconuts) could yield about 500 litres of oil.
The crude and unrefined coconut oil is a yellowish white solid that melts at around 23°C. This may sound incorrect, but crude or unrefined coconut oil will definitely solidify below 23° C. The oil rarely solidifies in Seychelles because the temperature is always above 23°C.
What about the ox?
The ox is specifically trained for the monotonous task. It goes through basic training starting when it is very young. It is taught to pull heavy loads ; listen to their human handlers; to walk calmly on a lead rope and learn to be comfortable around people. When it is a few months old, the calf is taught to wear its first yoke. The yoke is the piece of wood that goes across their necks and is traditionally held on with bent pieces of wood called bows.
Besides wearing a yoke, the calf must also learn some very basic commands. It is taught words that tell it to go forward, stop or move faster!
Newly trained ox is usually blindfolded to avoid dizziness and distraction, but the trained ones do not require any blindfold.
Copra Meal or Pounak
Once the copra has been thoroughly milled and most of the oil extracted, the end product is a paste called copra meal, locally known as pounak which derives from poonac which is the English word for copra cake or meal. Poonac may have derived from the Sinhalese word ‘punakku’ which could have its roots from the Sanskrit word ‘piṇyāka’.
The poonac is manually removed from the mortar once the mill has stopped and transferred in containers to be sold as animal feed. It has high oil and protein content and is the ideal feed for fattening pigs and chicken. A handful of pounak tasted very nice when you are a small kid!
This is the fifth post in the series relating to the coconuts and how it impacted on the life of the Seychellois. To read previous posts click on the links below:
- The Coconut in Seychelles
- Tapping Toddy in Seychelles- Tir Kalou Sesel
- Picking and Husking Coconuts- Plis Koko
- Making Copra in a Calorifer
Sources: Parol ek Memwar- récits de vie des Seychelles ( Annegret Bollée et Marcel Rosalie)
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