Larry Paukert of Crowley recently returned from a volunteer trip to Malawi where he shared his expertise in vegetable oil production with local producers.

His assignment was part of a project with CNFA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people and enterprises in the developing world.

Paukert has been involved with vegetable oil extraction, refining and the building and start up of plants for 35 years.

In August 2008, he started his own company, 3T Veg Oil Consulting.

He has travelled on various consulting jobs worldwide, but this trip was his first volunteer assignment.

In Malawi, Larry trained local farmers on peanut storage, shelling, grinding, roasting, refining and oil extraction techniques. He also conducted training sessions on roasting and extracting machinery, focusing on important maintenance and safety measures.

Paukert interacted closely with two host organizations who were “friendly, receptive and open to suggestions.”

He noted their resilience and determination to market their products.

“They do really good with what they have to work with because they face many obstacles to getting their product to the market place, but still exert an enormous effort to transfer their products,” he said.

Paukert remarked his hosts’ determination and enthusiasm to increase their market share and improve their production techniques. He also realized that their resources are limited, so he proposed suggestions of low financial requirements.

“I did not tell them to scrap all their equipment and buy new ones and they were appreciative of that, this seemed to make them more

willing to obtain the things I did recommend,” he said.

Throughout his trip, Larry put to use the skills he has acquired through his work in other developing countries.

He was recently an oilseed processing adviser for an agricultural study team from the Norman Borlaug Institute and Texas A&M University that studied the prospects for the imporvement of agriculture in Northern Iraq.

He has grown to feel that he “gets along well with people from other cultures.”

He has learned to be patient in accommodating cultural and professional differences, which allows him to make recommendations that are suitable for the circumstances.

For intance, he is now aware that many cultures are not as fast-paced as America’s, and he has grown to accommodate a slower pace

of doing business.

 Besides his duties within the assignment, Paukert enjoyed Malawi’s rich nature and its scenery, dotted with exquisite flowers and trees and a diverse crop base.

Paukert traveled to Malawi under the United States Agency for International Development funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program, which provides voluntary technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, and agribusinesses in developing and transitional countries to promote sustainable improvements in food processing, production, and marketing.

Founded in 1985, CNFA is dedicated to strengthening agricultural markets and empowering entrepreneurs in the developing world. CNFA is now recruiting for many similar volunteer assignments.

For information visit www.cnfa.org/farmertofarmer.

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