Among the renewable resources available in the world, plant products rank very high. Examples include cotton, which yields clothing; wood, for construction; and natural rubber, for automotive tires, etc. Many plants yield valuable oils, such as corn oil, linseed oil, and cotton seed oil (1). Besides food uses, these oils provide the basis for paints, adhesives and other industrial uses. The presence of multiple unsaturated sites allows for ready polymerization (2). Castor oil, which comes from the castor bean plant, is nearly unique among vegetable oils in containing hydroxyl groups in addition to points of unsaturation. Thus, there are two ways of polymerizing castor oil': through the use of sulfur or oxygen, which attacks the double bonds, or through the hydroxyl groups, to form polyurethanes, or polyesters, etc. (3,4,5). This paper reviews a four-year international program between Colombia and the United States. Its objectives were two fold: (1) From a