Making and selling coconut oil has certainly changed the living circumstances of Denise Richards.

The Georgetown resident is gaining her independence through her daily hustle to gather coconuts and processing them to get the oil.

“It is not easy work at all, sometimes I have to go way up into the mountains, to gather coconuts,” Richards explained.

Thankfully, on many of these occasions she gets assistance to tote the bags of coconuts from the mountain.

Prior to starting her own coconut oil business, Richards had been unemployed for about five years which made life rough for the mother of five.

“I used to do a little farming before, but then I stopped, and was just at home with nothing to do,” she reflected.

“I have a friend in Sandy Bay who makes and sells coconut oil and sometimes I used to help her sell.”

Richards said the friend showed her how to make coconut oil, and having learnt how, decided to try it herself. She is now a boss in her own right.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday, April 21 Richards was proud to show us the only remaining bottle of coconut oil she had for the week.

“All the others already sell out, I have to make some more.”

She explained that she usually makes oil twice weekly, and the supplies run out very fast.

Speaking from her home in Georgetown, Richards outlined her routine in processing the oil.

“First, I have to go very far to gather coconuts; I walk and go anywhere, in any mountain, no matter how far,” she admitted.

Before processing, she must husk (remove shells), burst, remove the meat, then wash and grind the meat.

She then sets up this solution for sometime before putting the mixture to boil.

According to Richards, the boiling process is lengthy.

For this she gathers wood to make an outside fire.

Finally, it is the fat that surfaces in the pot that she extracts as oil.

Richards said sometimes she is assisted by her children; at other times, she works alone.

“I am doing this for the past three years now, I make coconut oil twice per week to sell to my customers; people come right by my home to buy oil,” Richards added.

The Georgetown resident said that since she got engaged in this cottage industry her life has been transformed.

“Since I have started doing this, I can pay my rent and my other bills, and buy little things for my five children, it is a big help because I can buy little food stuff also,”she disclosed.

Richards believes that people don’t always have to wait on others for a job, or for financial support.

“We can all get up and do something to make an honest dollar,” the mother of five advised.