Producing Virgin Coconut Oil

CoconutOil

Here at Jiwa Damai, we produce our own virgin coconut oil with the organic coconuts grown on the property. Not only do we use the coconut oil in our kitchen for each meal, we also have various sized bottles available for sale in our small shop.

Coconut oil is considered one of the world's top superfoods with thousands of uses and more benefits than we can count! Here's a wonderful infographic explaining just a few of the benefits from this incredible food:

We use a very special process to extract the oil from each coconut, which is done by hand by our lovely Balinese staff. We would love for you to click the pictures below and read more about this process in our simple step by step guide.

Step 1

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Step 2

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Step 3

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Have you tried this method before? If not, what other methods have you used? We would love for you to comment below and share with us!

Newest Residents at Jiwa Damai

Lava rocks

During his visit, Juergen from Germany, who is a Geomantist, the European version of Feng Shui, observed the property and its layout. Since many waters embrace and flow through Jiwa Damai, he strongly suggested adding stones, preferably Lava stones, the fire element, to balance the water on the property. What a great reason to make Jiwa Damai a home for huge lava stones from Mount Agung, the holy mountain in Bali. After inspecting and choosing the location carefully, a crew of ten men transported each rock, the largest one weighing 350 kg, to its location. The rocks are set 35-40% deep into the earth and placed on the opposite ends of our garden. Five rocks have been brought to Jiwa Damai and two of them are still awaiting their placement.

Jackfruit Season!

We are currently enjoying our second flush of organic Jackfruit from the garden. The trees fruited a few months ago before Christmas and are again yielding mammoth fruits for us to savour. Parting the strong skin with a large knife and peeling out the fruit makes our hands very sticky, while providing a unique aroma and taste. We thinly slice some of the fruit to put in our dehydrator, so we can enjoy this delicious treat on the out-of-season months. The seeds can be chopped and roasted for salads, boiled and blended into a delicious rich hummus, or boiled in soups and stews.

Our pond fish enjoy eating the remaining Jackfruit flesh attached to the peel as a special seasonal treat and for some variation in their diet. Yes, pond fish love fruit too! You'll never have to throw away a peel again if you simply compost it or feed it to whatever friendly critters you have around.

You may see trees with large sacks hanging between the branches all over our garden. These are the young Jackfruit which we cover in order to protect from fruit flies that sting and destroy it. All fruit is enjoyed without using poisonous and harmful chemicals.

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Jackfruit seeds

Mandala Garden Progress

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Our tireless helpers, Anya, Autumn and Russell, and our faithful work-study Jordy from Sumba Island, were re-invigorating and bringing our Mandala Garden back into its wonderful design. All individual areas were covered with coconut shells (left from our coconut oil production) and the new plantings are emerging and peeking out from in between. Covering the soil with the shells, fewer weeds will grow. The coconut shells serve another very important purpose as well, slowly decomposing to become a great fertilizer and compost for the future plants. In addition, the coconut shells help reduce our water consumption by protecting the soil from the sun during the dry season and stop erosion of the soil from the heavy rain during the rainy season.

Autumn

In the tropics printed signs bleach in no time, due to the strength of the sun. Previously written signs on bamboo sticks faded and decomposed within a month. Based on these experiences, the current solution is to use plastic pipes and markers. Autumn is preparing the signs. At this point this method has proven to last much longer. The Mandala Garden, aside from being a symbolic design and a pleasure to the eyes, produces our fresh organic vegetables for our consumption.

Organic food served in Jiwa Damai

Here you can see a couple of dishes served in the vegan yoga class in Jiwa Damai.

Our garden is organically certified, so they are 95 percent organic. 

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Our food comes from our garden, cooked with coconut oil made on the property, healthy food. Bon appétit!

Our Christmas tree

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This is our Christmas tree at the entrance of our dining area. Our guests from Germany and Switzerland helped decorate the tree. And to do that they had to move into the water.  We still keep it, you can come and check it out by yourself

Chinampas project

Chinampas project

We have just started our new project - chinampas. Our volunteers, Egle, Hannah and Chris are going to change this piece of wild jungle into the breathtaking floating garden. In couple of weeks.

Chinampas

Chinampas in January

Chinampas, the first in Bali, are 100% self-resourced biomaterial structures, realized by our enthusiastic volunteers from all corners of the earth.It’s been a very challenging project, to look at the muddy tangle of weeds that was the swamp and see a flourishing garden, but such is the creative nature of the permaculturist, who believes that every problem is also a solution. The swamp--part pond, part oversized mud puddle—was in its untouched state home to a thicket of water plants and tangled, vine-like weeds. The structure of a Chinampa begins with a rectangular frame, woven from flexible strips of bamboo and staked into the mud. The first layer of the chinampas is a bed of dry, brown material—fallen coconut palm leaves primarily. Next comes green material; we used the weeds, grass, and plants harvested from clearing the swamp. Next is a layer of the rich, clay-based mud from the swamp, which forms the third and final layer. When the layers are complete, we will plant the garden on the elevated platform and trees along the perimeter. As the roots grow they will secure the structure of the chinampas, supplanting the bamboo frames, which eventually will rot away. Chinampas, or “floating gardens,” are a subsistence agricultural technique designed by the Aztecs, originally constructed along the shallow lakebeds in the Valley of Mexico, as a resourceful way of turning stagnant wetlands into thriving agricultural gardens. This project is the brainchild of volunteer Stephanie Garvin, and has been executed by our international volunteers, Kris (Sweden), Hannah (Germany), Egle (Lithuania), Mika (Germany), Celsae (USA), Gloria (USA), Marina (Slovakia), and Luz (Argentina). We appreciate their hard work and commitment!

Homemade deodorant from coconut oil

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homemade-deodorantSMALL

Luckily, you don´t have to rely on commercial deodorants and risk as serious damage to your health. There’s an amazingly effective deodorant that uses just a few natural ingredients and can easily be made in your own home. The main ingredient in this natural alternative is our virgin coconut oil, organically certified and made with love here at Jiwa Damai.This deodorant has a pleasurable scent, moisturizes the skin, and those who use it swear by it. Recipe Ingredients: 6-8 Tbsp Coconut oil (solid state) 1/4 cup baking soda 1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (arrowroot is preferred) Directions: 1. Combine equal portions of baking soda & arrowroot powder/cornstarch. 2. Slowly add coconut oil and work it in with a spoon or hand blender until it forms a firm but pliable texture. It should be about the same texture as commercial deodorant, solid but able to be applied easily. If it too wet, add more arrowroot powder/cornstarch to thicken. 3. You can either scoop the mixture into your old deodorant dispenser or place in a small container with an airtight lid and apply by hand. Makes about 1 cup. This recipe lasts about 3 months for two people with regular daily use. About the Ingredients Baking soda absorbs odors, cornstarch absorbs wetness and coconut oil is an anti-oxidant and a moisturizer with anti-fungal/anti-bacterial properties. You can also add essential oils such as tea tree oil for its antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic qualities.

Source: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com

Moringa: The Miracle Tree

Have you heard about the miracle tree? The tree that can provide your body with a multitude of vitamins and is great for improving your overall health? The name of this super tree is the Moringa, and quite a few of them are growing in the gardens at Jiwa Damai. The moringa is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India, but widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas. With its potent health benefits, it’s quite miraculous that moringa trees grow in subtropical areas, where malnutrition is most prevalent. This tree is one of the world’s most useful plants and can save millions of lives!

The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant, being a significant source of B vitamins, vitamin C, provitamin A as beta-carotene, vitamin K, manganesium and protein, among other essential nutrients. Moringa leaves have seven times the Vitamin C of oranges, four times the calcium of milk, four times the vitamin A of carrots, three times the potassium of bananas, and two times the protein of yogurt. It really is a miracle tree!

In addition to the rich nutritive value of the leaves, moringa seeds can be used as a quick and simple method for cleaning dirty river water. Studies show that this simple method of filtering not only diminishes water pollution but also harmful bacteria. Powdered moringa seeds adhere to the solids in dirty water and then sink to the bottom, leaving clear, clean water behind. This treatment also removes 90-99% of bacteria.

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Jiwa Damai retreat center will soon utilize this amazing super food by making moringa seed powder from the trees growing in our organic garden. Moringa powder can be used for cooking or simply sprinkled on top of a salad for an extra dose of health. It won’t be long before our guests and volunteers will be able to feel for themselves all the great benefits of the moringa tree. Let’s see how it works!