Watch experts hand-process 100 coconuts for oil

My take on this family processing the coconuts themselves is that they’re a bit more self sufficient. They probably don’t make a lot of money, and even if they did make enough money i still dont see anything wrong with processing the oil themselves if they have easy access to coconuts. It’s freshly made and if i knew of anyone doing this for their cooking it would pique my interest. Not that there’s anything with regular store bought coconut oil (i buy some occasionally)

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The folks doing the refining here do quite a bit of this sort of thing, whether it’s juicing fruits or making bread from scratch for their neighbors. I get the sense that they post these videos to show the process behind doing things by hand that we’re used to being automated or factory-made.

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Oh, absolutely. Of course it’s great that they are resourceful and are able to scrape together some extra income - from having visited similar-looking areas in India, I know something of how desperately that little bit extra is needed. I simply object to showcasing poor people working as some sort of spectacle. Leaves a foul taste in my mouth.

I’m not objecting to them publishing the video, I’m objecting to the presentation and framing of it here on Boingboing. Quite the opposite, actually: seeing realistic representations of life in conditions very different from one’s own is important to foster understanding. But that requires thoughtful and informed presentation, not “look at these brown people working their a**es of, this is entertainment”.

Definitely agree with this sentiment, though different people would inherently interpret an article on these folks in their own way. I got a different impression that you did, but steps can be taken to minimize misconceptions. I’m glad that this particular group is using their knowledge to help sustain their local community though.

Sounds like you know oil prices better than I do. Thanks for the info.

Sorry you’re feeling sick, that sounds hard :frowning:

Seems to me the framing is simply stating that these guys are experts, that they help the needy, and are good cooks. There’s no mention of their skin color. I don’t see any of that as insulting or making a spectacle of them. It leaves it very much up to the viewer and it seems that you’ve read something into it that others have not.

I can tell!

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