My name is Heini Joensen, and I am originally from Denmark. Following a very successful business career in Denmark, I decided to move to Thailand in January 2000, and began teaching at a local school in Prachuap Khirikhan province. There I met my future wife, Taweporn, who was also teaching at the school. We married in September 2002, and have been living here happily ever since. We have become an integral part of our community through working at the local school, as well as through our business which provides extra jobs and income for local people.

In this part of rural Thailand, most people live on a daily income of around 150 baht, which equals about three US dollars per day.

The food intake of the students we see at our school is unfortunately gradually changing from the healthy Thai diet (rice, vegetables, fruit, fish, and a little meat), to a Western junk food lifestyle. Many students skip the low-cost, healthy school lunch which is available, and prefer instead to eat unhealthy, mass-produced foods, wrapped in shiny colored plastic packages and advertised on TV.

We had been increasingly noticing that more and more students are showing signs of serious skin problems, obesity, and other Western diseases which were not so much in evidence here before.

We were also sure that it had to be due to the changing lifestyle, but could not pinpoint a single cause.

How we Began

One day we spoke to an old woman who was raising three grand children.

She invited us to share a meal with her, and we were very interested to see her using a delicious cooking oil that she had made herself from fresh coconuts.

She explained to us about the use and benefits of virgin coconut oil, that she made the same way as her grandparents had taught her to make it.

The next week, copying the old lady's technique, I made my first small batch of coconut oil, and as I realized how good it was, I read all I could find about the subject.

I discovered that coconut oil has long been used in the West as a skin lotion. Due to its antiseptic and antioxidant properties, it can prevent and treat many skin disorders, as well as improving the general appearance of healthy skin and hair.

As I continued my reading, however, I found that the real benefit comes from substituting the daily intake of fat with virgin coconut oil. Western researchers have found that by consuming high-quality coconut oil instead of mass-produced conventional cooking oil, the body's immune system becomes stronger, and the metabolic rate increases, leading to an impressive range of health benefits.

The prospects for this oil were so good that we decided to begin a project to use local coconuts and local labor to produce the highest possible quality of this coconut oil, as a product for export as well as for local use.

We are now ready to take the next step and start to export our product - "The World's Best Oil".

Best Regards,

Heini Joensen