Over the past 2 years a collective of Vanuatu Kava industry individuals formed a Kava collective and the subsequent online entities; VanuatuKavaStore.com and QuickKava.com.
The core mission statement for these sites was to increase the value adding component of the kava trade in Vanuatu, so that it no longer would just be the “source of kava”, but also the place where it is processed and packaged in various forms.
The idea being that Vanuatu kava growers , the grassroots of the kava industry claim back control of the processing of kava from corporations in the US and Europe for themselves.
By value adding in Vanuatu, this allows for more money to flow back to the villages , the people who most need the money. It also allowed the Quick Kava Team to develop products using local Vanuatu companies for packaging and marketing in conjunction with the same villages who grow the kava to help produce the end product.
Whilst this mission statement was honorable in its intentions, it needed two core areas to be addressed to make it work:
1. Development of a core product that can be retailed online and terrestrially at a price point and quality level beyond what was currently available.
2. Village communities that were willing to participate in the processing of the core product.
One of the key individuals behind Quick Kava Premium had previously developed a refining procedure allowing for the manufacturing of a 100% soluble concentrated instant kava, which was 4 times as strong as its non refined original product.
At the time (early 2002) the kava industry had taken a blow due to the banning of kava by some countries participating in EU countries and it wasn’t feasible to pursue this.
However in one of the many brain storms by the individuals behind Quick Kava, this product was raised. After crunching the logistics, it was deemed that this was the best product to launch the value adding mission with.
The Quick Kava team then headed to a southern village of Pentecost, the home of one of the Quick Kava “quorum”. After discussions with key members of the village, the first trial of what was to become known as Quick Kava Premium began.
The first trial was done using the following steps:
1. Village Families dug up some of their prime kava that was ready to be harvested.
2. The kava was cleaned straight away by the village ladies . The kava was then processed using the Pentecost traditional technique - the same way that they prepared kava for their own consumption, by key male figures in the village.
3. The fresh kava juice, made from the same kava harvested and processed that day, was then bottled and frozen in the freezer – run by the only generator in the village..there is no electricity available in this village.
4. The villagers who participated in the processing of the kava were paid above the normal rate for their kava – the Quick Kava team saved money by not dealing with kava middlemen in Port Vila, so we actually saved money! Plus the villagers were paid for labour and expenses, thus getting paid for the value adding of the product.
5. The frozen bottles of Kava were then shipped from the village landing spot used by the island trader boats back to Port Vila..an interesting journey but a story for another day.
6. The frozen bottles of kava were then taken to our processing facility in Port Vila and the process of turning the frozen kava juice into Quick Kava Premium began.
7. After Processing the Kava Juice from Pentecost into Quick Kava Premium the first batch was then produced.
8. After trialing of the raw product, the Quick Kava team are all experienced kava drinkers, agreed that with the costs borne to manufacture the product, the strength and quality of the product, they were onto something and agreed to use Quick Kava Premium as their core product.
9. You might have the best product in the world, but it still needs to be packaged correctly. So sticking with the Vanuatu value adding ethos, the labeling, packaging, package design and the labour required to pack the product was all sourced locally, using Vanuatu companies. This was all done at a cost that was comparative to what you would pay in the US and the UK, so the value adding mission was achievable!
The Quick Kava team are ecstatic with the results of Quick Kava Premium and are now proud to announce the ongoing manufacturing of Quick Kava Premium using the following sales pitch that we stand behind.
“Quick Kava Premium is the finest grade of Instant Kava on the market. Put it simply, the best grade borogu kava from Pentecost is taken out of the ground. It is then prepared in Pentecost kastom style and shipped to Efate where it is converted to 98% soluble instant powder. There are NO chemicals used in our unique extraction technique. Quick Kava Premium is made under the strictest hygiene conditions and each batch is tested for its strength and purity! "
There is not another product like it on the market! Quick Kava Premium offers a strong but clean buzz with minimal kava taste and leaves no kava lag, just like having fresh kava in the islands!”
More importantly for us is that we also are proud to stand behind our initial mission statement, making Quick Kava Premium:
Grown in Vanuatu, Made in Vanuatu and ready for use World Wide!
