The Coconoil Collection

The company is the brainchild of founder Garry Stiven, who visited Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami to help with emergency relief work. When Garry, a former field director for Save the Children who has spent many years living abroad, saw the extent of the devastation, he knew it would take many years for the worst-hit areas to recover.

Garry used his experience from previous events, such as Hurricane Fifi and the Guatemalan earthquake to help with a number of immediate relief projects. But he wanted to find a way to help the Sri Lanka people in the longer term and he turned his attention to finding an export market for the country to bring in new revenue and boost the economy. This is when the idea of exporting coconut oil came into his mind. He then decided to sell the organic and natural benefits of coconut exported from Sri Lanka.