Dr. Bengwayan, i would like to contact you because i know you are the right person to ask all the things about the hanga tree. me and my groupmates are so interested in conducting a thesis study about the plant. Kindly, would you please help us. I am from Batangas State University sir. I'm looking forward to meet up with you. thank you.

The project will be implemented in Benguet, Philippines, particulalrly to villages which have no electicity and cannot be reached by vehicular transportation due to the rugged mountainous terrain of the region. The project will provide light, fuel, heating, energy for cooking and power (for small machines) for the people.

The project will first train farmers to plant petrolum nut (Pittosfurom resineferum) and produce petroleum nut oil for farm machinery use (rice mill, grinders, blacksmith, dryers) , home lighting, heating and cooking for five remote villages with 475 families or 2,678 people.

Petroleum nut is an indigenous uncultivated tree that grows wild in some areas of the province of Benguet and Mountain Province in the Cordillera region.

The tree is called petroleum nut because the odor of the fruit’s oil resembles the smell of petroleum. The fruits, even green ones, burn like gas brilliantly when ignited. Hence they are used like torch nuts or candlenuts for illumination in the bush by indigenous peoples. Its main chemical component is Heptane (C7H16), a component of gasoline. It is also a potential for paint and varnish. It contains Dihydroterpene (C10H18), used in perfumes and medicine.

In the e project, residents including school children from the five villages will be oriented on the importance of biofuel trees and the Philippine Biofuel Law. They will then be trained on the establishment of biofuel nurseries for petroleum nut production. Each village will establish a petroleum nut nursery for 10,000 seedlings which will be planted in a 20 hectare area. One hectare of petroleum nut yields 1.5 metirc tons of petroleum nut oil which is more than enough to be used as fuel for petro-lamps for lighting, four cooking and even to run a small rice mill for one village. The oil will be used for tool making in blacksmiths and to run seed dryers for beans and coffee.

Petroleum nut seedlings from the nurseries will be planted in along farmers fields, barren and denuded farmlands and public lots. The second importance of the petoleum nut aside from fuel oil is to promote soil conservation, prevent topsoil erosion and enhance biodiversity for habitat of small wildlife and fowl life.

Each of the five villages will be provided by a oil press machine that is manually operated, notably the Goyum press machine type. This machine press features include cast iron bodies & base. It has a is single reduction gear box with spur gears. Its fabricated chamber with three sections of 20" x 3 1/2". It’s case is hardened worm assembly. It is of superior quality for oil & cake oil extgracting and needs very very little maintenance. It has a capacity of ten (10) tons.

Expelled oil from the press machine will be stored in five liter plastic gallons. Each village shall form its own biofuel cooperative that shall undertake the management of the petroleum nut plantation, harvesting, oil extraction processing, storage and marketing of the petroleum nut oil. A team from each village will be trained to operate the press machines

Petroleum nut oil will be sold to cooperative members at a low price as agreed upon by the members. The income generated from the cooperative shall be used to repair and maintain as well as buy spare parts for the oil press machine.

This project will greatly help the people. It will improve their economic, social and cultural activities especially in farm, work home, school and clinic.

Aside from the biodiversity importance and erosion-prevention contribution of the project, the use of petroleum nut oil for gas stove in cooking will also reduce pressure on trees in forests which are targeted for firewood cutting. Thus trees are given the chance to grow and multiply.

Michael