Indian Coir

The coir industry in India has a history and tradition which dates back to the 19th century. One of the major traditional industries of India, coir provides livelihood to lakhs of artisans in rural areas. This industry took roots in India’s southern states along the coastline. Being 100% natural, moth proof, fungi resistant, bio-degradable and eco-friendly, today, coir has become an article of every day use in modern life with a product range encompassing mattresses, mattings, door mats, garden articles etc.
The Government set up the Coir Board under the provisions of Coir Industry Act, 1953 for the overall development of the coir industry. India is the major exporter of coir and coir products. The success story of the coir industry in India is due to the skill and the manpower available in the traditional coir producing areas of the country. About 40% of the coconut husk is utilised by the coir industry. The extensive improvement in the utilisation level of raw materials to 60% will lead to employment generation upto 8 lakhs workers during the close of the 11th Five Year Plan period. The perspective issues relating to the industry is that support related activities need to be augmented by way of Government support because it gives livelihood for lakhs of workers by utilising the discarded waste material of the coconut industry. The industry also fetches crores of foreign exchange by export of coir and coir products. It is expected that the export will cross more than 1000 crores in the XIth Plan Period. Now coir is exported to more than 100 countries.
With a view to making the traditional industries more productive and competitive and facilitating their sustainable development the Government launched two new schemes :Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), Rejuvenation, Modernisation & Technology Upgradation of the Coir Industry (REMOT).

Under SFURTI, Coir Board is the nodal agency for implementation, a direct scheme sponsored by MSME for the development of traditional coir industry. The important objectives of the scheme are to develop clusters of traditional industries in various parts of the country over a period of five years commencing 2005-06; to make traditional industries more competitive with more market-driven, productive, profitable and sustained employment for traditional industry artisans and rural entrepreneurs; to strengthen the local governance systems of industry clusters, with the active participation of the local stakeholders, so that they are enabled to undertake development initiatives by themselves; and to build up innovated and traditional skills, improved technologies, advanced processes, market intelligence and new models of public-private partnerships, so as to gradually replicate similar models of cluster-based regenerated traditional industries.
The main objectives of the REMOT Scheme are to modernize Coir industry by adoption of modern technology in production and processing of Coir in the spinning and weaving sectors; upgradation of the production and processing technology for improving the productivity and quality; increasing the efficiency and productivity for enhancing the earnings of the workers and income of spinners/ tiny-household sectors; improving the utilization of coconut husk for increasing the production of Coir and Coir products and to generate employment in the rural areas of the Coir producing states, simultaneously providing more employment opportunities for women in the rural sector for gender empowerment; and inclusive growth of the vulnerable sections of beneficiaries especially those belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and North Eastern Region (NER). The Scheme also provides sufficient training to the rural youth of the coconut producing States with an eye on attracting them to the fold of coir sector.
The schemes are being implemented for the coir industry through the Coir Board. Two National level research and development centres on coir has been set up, one in Kerala and one in Karnataka.

Coir Geotextiles or Coir Bhoovastra have shot in to the limelight today thanks to its eco-friendly characteristics. They are being effectively used for improving soil behaviour, preventing soil erosion, and in helping consolidation of soil. Coir as a 100% organic and biodegradable fibre with great water absorbency, has a definite edge over synthetic geotextiles, in the environmental aspect. The greatest advantage is that it provides an ecological niche for rapid establishment of vegetation.

Coir Ply board is also an excellent building material, especially for interiors, instead of traditional heavier materials. Coir Ply boards have gypsum core and the sides are normally lined with paper. These boards are light weight making it easier for the builders to handle, and easier to dismantle. The coir ply board is also an excellent low cost insulation material at residences and office buildings. Coir ply also offers a decor option and is an excellent wood substitute. It can be used in the place of conventional wood of all kinds of wood work, like doors, windows, cupboards, wall panels etc. It can be laminated or coated with melamine finish. for a glossy or matte finish.

Coir pith, the by-product of dehusking of coconut fibre now finds great application in the horticultural and agricultural sectors . Pith is the spongy material that binds the coconut fibre in the coconut husk. An excellent soil conditioner, it now finds use as a manure and in horticultural applications as a soil-less growing medium. It is found to be ideal for use in gardens, especially growing anthuriums and orchids, given the moisture retention qualities of coir pith. Flower pots made of coir can hold your pet plants and add a dash of colour to your indoors and out doors.

The coir industry is one of the oldest traditional, agro-based, export oriented, labour intensive industry in India. The production of coir and allied products has been extensively undertaken in the coconut producing areas of the countries providing employment generation, potential for the rural artisans especially women of these areas. The eco-friendly, natural, bio-degradable nature of coir has made itself important in the international scenario too. The various end-uses of coir and coir products have been accredited by the international and domestic market due to its versatility. Within a span of ten years, the coir industry in India will grow to higher peaks for earning more valuable foreign exchange for the country and generating employment and the proposed technological interventions will help to upgrade the quality, productivity, working environment, wage earning structure as a whole will lead the Indian Coir industry to a splendid, bright future.