A SATELLITE IMAGE OF huge acres of MANUKA OIL "ON THE GROW"
The Kohumaru Blocks - a manuka & kanuka haven
Customary owners
A local Ngati Kahu hapu member in the rohe, holds a Crown lease over Kohumaru Station, a former Landcorp pastoral farming block in Northland carrying 30+ year old regrowth manuka over an area of 944 ha. The leaseholder has contracted to supply the Co-Op with the foliage required to extract the oil needed by Manuka Oil Technology Ltd, (“MOT”) to meet its oil supply requirements until 2027 as the Co-Op expands and builds its local Grower-Producer foliage supply base.
Onsite processing
During the (Phase I) launch period, the foliage will be processed onsite by MOT under contract to the Co-Op for extraction. All oil extracted is batch recorded for verifiable proof-of-provenance to the health & wellness conscious end consumer. The supply agreement provides for the Co-Op’s 2019 Annual Farm Gate Payment (AFGP) per kg/ltr to be paid to both Kohumaru and other Grower-Producers.
High terpene content delivers a wide range of therapeutic health & wellness benefits
Rich in terpenes and triketones, essential oil of Manuka, is widely recognized as being a highly efficient health & wellness oil that delivered a range of medicinal remedies for the native peoples of Aotearoa/NZ for hundreds of years through Rongoa (traditional medicinal) practices. The manuka oil from both Northland and the Hauraki/Coromandel rohe are far richer in terpene compounds than the triketone oil from the East Cape region. This opens the door to a much wider range of topical and ingestible therapeutic health and wellness applications than the limited bio-microbial applications of east coast sourced oils that focus on this single niche of the natural health and wellness sector.
US Distribution Partner
The first batches of oil to be produced will be exported to the USA where a Related Affiliate of the Co-Op has arranged for the oil to be bottled and packaged by a well-established outsource cosmetics manufacturer, bottling and packaging company in Florida.
Linda will be based in Florida to direct the US operations starting with a pilot Popup shop in the Boca Raton area.
Watch this space and the 177east.com website for updates.
THE CO-OP'S KAUPAPA IS SIMPLE
"Whanau-on-the-whenua"
The Co-Op exists to help both Maori and Pakeha landowners to increase the economic yield of their whenua. The nursery program will provide qualifying landowners with the support they need to start harvesting manuka.
Harvesting/Nursery operations
Part of the Co-Op strategy is to develop manuka nursery operations that will supply the ongoing seedling stock required to expand the capacity of the oil harvesting whenua area in the rohe.