Coconut Commitment

While coconuts literally "grow on trees", farming them is not so easy with sociological and climate issues that have adversely impacted coconut yields in the Philippines over the past several years. A lack of funds and limited use of modern farming techniques compound the issues and poor income of local farming communities.

This initiative focuses on communities in the Quezon and Camarines Norte provinces of the Philippines, where many of Malibu's coconuts come from. Here, coconut farming is economically vital, but low yields, old trees, soil depletion, climate change, and dependence on middlemen are impacting farmers.

To help instigate change, Malibu has partnered with experts to implement key initiatives that aim to improve the livelihoods of up to 500 coconut farmers in the Philippines. To achieve this, the goal is to help increase their annual crop by an average of 20% by giving farmers access to better-yielding coconut varieties and increasing the number of coconut trees per square meter.

In addition, Coconut Commitment is teaching farmers how to diversify their crops and farm sustainably to provide additional income streams and improve soil health.

Demo farms have been set up in several regions as examples of best practices in sustainable farming and to showcase intercropping. These farms also allow the trial of hybrid trees that fruit faster and are more resilient. These farms are hands-on training grounds.

Expert partners providing technical knowledge, on-ground assistance, funding, and links to markets. These include:

• Farm Sustainability Assessment – an SAI Platform that helps drive on-farm sustainability and progress.
• GIZ - a German global development agency driving international cooperation for sustainable development and education.
• Franklin Baker - a local coconut processor in the Philippines.
• Symrise - Malibu's signature flavour provider with a focus on efficient and sustainable sourcing of raw materials.