The best thing about coir is that it is eco-friendly. Once the coir product is damaged, you can throw it away or burn it without causing any sort of pollution. It is this feature on which the coir industry in Kerala thrives.

The three-day coir fest that concluded in Kozhikode on Saturday had good turnover, despite the short span of the fest and the influx of alternative products. “Everyone who visited the festival purchased one thing or the other. The workers want a few more days in Kozhikode,” said K.P.Rajan, Project Officer of Coir, Kozhikode.

The exhibition featured different types of doormats, rugs and mattresses, besides a few variety products such as show pieces and ornaments made of coir. Organic manure made out of coir waste was another product in great demand. The exhibition featured stalls of Coir Fed, Coir Corporation, Foam Mattings India Ltd. and various MSME units from Alappuzha and Kozhikode. Products based on other natural fibres like flax, jute and screw pine were also on display.

Alappuzha is the centre of the coir industry in the State and exports more products than what is sold in the country. Coir products are in great demand in many foreign countries. The industry there is completely mechanised and is a multi-million dollar business. But the northern districts of Kerala are yet to catch up with mechanisation, Rajan said.

He said the lack of interest of the younger generation was the major reason for coir industry not picking up in Kozhikode. “We are planning to introduce mechanised labour to function with a low workforce,” he said.

Source: The Hindu

Image Courtesy : The Hindu