Book on coconut wins award

A book on coconut has won another award.

This time, the “Coconut: The Philippines’ Money Tree” garnered the Book Award in Business and Economics given recently by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Authored and published by multi-awarded scientist Dr. Renato M. Labadan and said to be the first coffeetable book on everything coconut, the 258-page volume had earlier won the 2006 National Book Award conferred by the Manila Critics Circle in cooperation with the National Book Development Board.

Replete with colored photographs, the book features articles and the most complete and comprehensive array of coconut-based products ranging from the popular virgin coconut oil (VCO) to coco-biodiesel; household items; finely-crafted world-class decoratives and furnishing; the spirit-filled lambanog in different labels, sizes, and flavors; and the coconut fiber net for soil erosion control.

Among the topics covered by the 11-chapter volume were the coconut tree’s origin, Philippine coconut biodiesel, virgin coconut oil, the coconut farmer, strategies to improve the coconut industry, coconut industry major players, the Coconut Palace, and the bounties of coconut.

Dr. Labadan, who holds a doctorate from Cornell University in New York, USA, said the volume “puts into vivid browsing materials that everybody knew but dared not to do about coconut, its many uses and its economic promises as well.”

He stressed: “From the lowly bunot which still polishes floors in many a countryside homes to the sophisticated and elegantly-packaged virgin coconut oil (VCO) containers, this book takes readers into a rich panorama of the amazing world of coconut. And while taking readers to virtual coco-filled adventure, it begs them to think of the realities and challenges as well as the future of the coconut.” – Rudy A. Fernandez