In the days before electricity, the Timorese people relied on candlenut as a source of light, burning the nut to light up their homes at night. The ancient people also used its pulped kernels or boiled leaves for headaches, fevers, ulcers, and swollen joints.

In Timor-Leste today, candlenut is starting to become a good source of income for many people. In December last year, Agriculture Minister Estanislau da Silva officially inaugurated Timor-Leste’s candlenut oil exports to Hawaii, unveiling the third shipment of candlenut oil by a local company, Acelda. In just a year since Acelda started its candlenut oil processing with assistance from USAID’s Small Grants Program and technical assistance from the University of Hawaii, Acelda has managed to export 160 barrels of candlenut oil to Oils of Aloha, a Hawaiian cosmetic company.

The villagers of Gariuai-Darasula in the eastern district of Baucau are definitely feeling the positive impact of this development. As Maria Angelica Freitas, a 31-year-old mother of four, says: “We are happy to sell our candlenut to Acelda because Acelda offers a good price at $0.45/kg and this enables us to send our children to school as well as cover our basic needs.”

Every year since it started operations in 2003, Acelda has been buying 30 percent of the approximately 1,000 tons of candlenut produced throughout the three eastern districts of Viqueque, Lautem, and Baucau. From the exports to Hawaii, Timor-Leste’s candlenut oil commanded a price of $4 per kilogram, which meant a gross income of $115,840 for Acelda (for a total of 28,960 kilograms) in its initial foray into the world market.

As Acelda is set to expand its sale of candlenut oil now that it has broken into the world market, things can only get better for Timor-Leste’s candlenut oil-producing communities. As Maria of Baucau puts it: “Selling candlenut is our main income. Here, candlenut is our life.”

Nevertheless, these are still early days. USAID, recognizing the potential of candlenut oil as a possible major export for cash-strapped Timor-Leste, has big plans for the miracle nut. Through its Development of Candlenut Enterprises project in Timor-Leste, USAID, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), is working to make the country’s candlenut oil industry more competitive by addressing weaknesses at every step of the industry’s value chain -- from the gathering and drying of candlenut up to the sale and transport of the oil extract. Soon, more Marias will be able to earn better incomes from candlenut oil, and that can only mean improved education and health for their children as well.