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IAST helps Rupununi residents develop Value Added ProductsBy Kiana WilburgIn the heart of Guyana’s lush and unspoiled forests, one would find that theProfessor Suresh Narine, Director of IAST (left) and Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, pose with other IAST membersAmerindians have preserved over 7,000 years of medicinal anthropology which they have used to sustain their generation. But what happens when indigenous recipes for supporting mankind’s existence is married with state-of-the-art science? Among many other things, it would result in the creation of a unique value added product.This is what occurred between residents of North Rupununi and members of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) which is based in the University of Guyana. The partnership is one that has produced high quality soaps made from Crabwood oil.It all started in early November when the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Institute of Applied Science and Technology visited Bina Hill, North Rupununi. There, they met with several women’s groups including the Makushi Research Unit (MRU),Jerseys China Wholesale, Medicine From Trees Women’s Group, Aranaputa Peanut Processors Friendly Society, and residents from the Parishara community, including small scale farmers.The visit provided the team with the opportunity to examine the products made in theseOne of the North Rupununi residents during a lab session with an IAST Chemistcommunities, with an aim to assist with technology injection to improve quality, texture, shelf life, labelling and the development of marketing strategies.Based on a needs assessment and consultation with the communities, several commitments were made, including: working with the Makushi Research Unit and the Medicine from Trees Women’s Group (MFTWG) to improve the quality and appeal of solid crabwood oil soaps and to develop methods to produce liquid crabwood oil soaps. Furthermore, they committed to incorporating organic and botanical sources of colour and scent into the soaps to improve their appeal to the marketplace.A promise was also made to work with these communities to standardize their extractions of various botanicals that are used in medicinal tinctures, creams and lotions produced by the communities,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, and improvement of the formulation, texture and shelf life.They also committed to working with the Aranaputa Peanut Processors Friendly Society to improve the shelf life of their peanut butter and in particular prevent oiling off effects and also assisting the Parishara village to rehabilitate their peanut-processing equipment.COMMITMENTS FULFILLEDThere was also a pledge from Professor Suresh Narine, Director of IAST, to have a TrentSome of the soaps made by the North Rupununi group in collaboration with IASTUniversity Graduate Student focus his/her Masters Degree on the development of sustainable business models for the community’s products, and to investigate the use of geographical indicators as a way of protecting the intellectual property of the region.Professor Narine also promised to collaborate on the inclusion and sponsoring of two elders from the community to attend the annual Indigenous Peoples Elders Conference at Trent University in 2016.On December 15 and 16 last, the first of these commitments were fulfilled by the IAST.Seven members of the Bina Hill, MRU and MFTWG were sponsored in a joint effort by the Ministry of Social Cohesion, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, the Institute of Applied Science and Technology and Ms. Vanda Radzik to visit the institute and engage in a soap-making workshop, marketing and branding workshop, and exposure to the various laboratories and pilot facilities and processes that exist at the IAST.The staff scientists at the institute, headed by Ms. Veenadika Persaud and Mr. Randey Fordyce, since the November 8 visit, worked with crabwood oil and other ingredients provided by the community to develop a variety of solid and liquid soaps.In particular, the institute focused on formulating both the liquid and solid soaps in such aSome of the hand soaps.way as to control the pH or the amount of free alkaline present in these products.Professor Narine explained that it is very important to ensure that the pH of the soaps, or the amount of free alkaline present, is kept within international guidelines, to ensure that the products present no danger to the skin, especially since these soaps are targeted at the cosmeceutical marketplace as facial soaps that provide active protection against dry skin and psoriasis, and provide emollient, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral functionalities.As explained by Professor Narine – “our Indigenous Peoples have for more than 7,000 years perfected the safe and effective use of medicinal botanicals such as crabwood oil.  When we marry these ancient remedies and medicines with modern products in the personal care industry, by including indigenous botanical actives in matrices such as soaps and creams, it is important to ensure that dosages are controlled and that the carrying matrices are formulated to ensure safety and reproducibility.”The IAST team also focused on the measurement and optimization of other attributes of the soaps: hardness for the solid soaps and viscosity for the liquid soaps and melting ranges for the solid soaps.Here, the American Society for Testing and Materials or ASTM International standards and tests were followed closely.  The IAST has specialized, state-of-the-art equipment to measure these values.The liquid and solid soaps were formulated and prescriptive methods developed for the North Rupununi Communities which would ensure that the value of these parameters were reproducible from batch to batch, ensuring consistency of product quality.THE BEST IT CAN BEAccording to Professor Narine, “our first recorded knowledge of soap making dates back to 2800 BC, when the Babylonians used manufactured soaps to clean wool.  Guyana and Guyanese have a long history of making excellent artisanal soaps,China NFL Jerseys, and in particular, our indigenous communities in the North Rupununi and the Barima-Waini region and Pomeroon-Supenaam region have been making excellent artisanal soaps for some time now.  There are also other local artisanal soaps produced.Our efforts at the institute are simply targeted at ensuring that the finished product is the best it can be, the safest it can be, and reproducible from batch to batch.  A thing is not that difficult to make – to make good things, we often need to inject some additional effort.”The team further improved on the types of soaps produced by injecting organic, food-grade colours in the most optimum concentrations, including dye extracted from the annatto plant, grown in our indigenous communities (a collaboration on annatto dye was initiated by discussions between Minister Sydney Allicock, Ms. Annette Arjoon-Martins and Professor Narine some time ago).Furthermore, essential oils extracted from locally grown lemongrass was used to add a pleasing and refreshing scent to the soaps, and to mask the crabwood oil scent,Wholesale Jerseys From China, which is sometimes a deterrent to use of the products.  The team is also working to include other essential oils, including those from the bay, jasmine, sweet sage and other local botanicals.A marketing and business development project management team at the IAST, led by Ms. Raveena Mangal and Mr. Vickram Ajudya,NFL Jerseys Cheap, performed a SWOT analysis of the products, a breakdown of costs, price point offerings and differently packaged products for different market segments.The team also developed a new brand for the products, called Rupununi Essence, and a new tagline – “Nature’s way to healthy skin.”  A new logo was developed also, which can be used by the residents of the North Rupunini.Various forms of packaging the product were introduced, ranging from traditional bar soaps to individualized single-use assorted soaps in recycled packaging (a fresh idea for the marketplace) and liquid soaps for cosmetic removal and before-bed skin cleansing and moisturizing.VERY IMPRESSEDThe visitors from the North Rupununi were familiarized with models to assess profitability and costs and to the various requirements for brand building and development.The visitors were very impressed with the quality of the soaps,NFL Jerseys Authentic, the marketing opportunities and the branding and packaging for their products.Part of the core soap-making team, Veronica Francis said she was particularly happy to have learnt how to make liquid soaps, and of the varying ways of enhancing their soaps by adding not just colours and scents, but natural additives such as fruits and coffee.“We like the idea of the suggested logo and we will start looking at getting ours ready by approaching our local artist to help get a logo that can show our village, our culture and our people. We will also research ways we can make our packaging unique.” Francis said, as she expressed her gratitude for the guidance on the importance of branding and marketing strategies for the soaps.Deputy Toshao of Annai Paulette Allicock also expressed her enthusiasm at the continued collaboration between the Institute and the community, disclosing that she found the Institute’s work impressive and the team’s hospitality noteworthy.But this sort of partnership, Professor Narine said, is only the beginning. He said that the institute will be seeking to broaden its collaboration to other indigenous and coastal communities over the next few years.