Citronella Production

Why Citronella?

Citronella oil has a number of uses, primary for insect repellent (you can find it in many anti mosquito products, patches, soaps, sprays and candles. Also used in perfumes and disinfectants. Currently there is a shortage in supply and there are ready buyers that have guaranteed to take whatever output we can generate.

We see an excellent opportunity to introduce Citronella growing into the communities we help because it is an easy crop to manage, it doesn’t get devastated when the typhoons hit as it is just a grass, there is very minimal maintenance, organic fertilizers found in the communities can be used (no need to buy), insects and animals do not destroy the crop, you plant it only once every 5-8 years and as mentioned earlier there is a lot of demand.

Objectives:

A) To provide livelihood to farmers in the mountain provinces in Davao and eventually other areas of the Philippines by utilising their idle land or switching them from growing unprofitable and unstable produce allowing us to bring the gospel to their community, train and equip leaders with a vision and desire to plant churches in their respective communities.

Our goal is to achieve this by providing them with the planting materials and training to plant and harvest the Citronella grass and guarantee to buy the grass from them at a fair agreed price.

B) To then process the grass into oil via a custom made DISTILLER and to teach the communities to make Citronella based products (candles, soaps, ointments, disinfectants etc) which can be sold locally and for export. Thus generating more jobs and generating finances to support the other ministries that Well of Life Community Development, Inc. and Well of Life Church Planting, Inc. are involved in, along with the wages for its workers. E.g. financing the building of the shelter for survivors of human trafficking.