2018 Kerala Coir from Coconut fiber

  Kerala is actually named after the coconut tree with "Kera" meaning Coconut tree and "Alam" meaning land so means "Land of Coconut Trees”

International Coir Museum, Alleppey, Kerala, India

When I was researching our time in Kerala, I came across an article on coconut Coir,  I continued to ask our driver to find a place to show us how coir is made and he found this Museum, which is also a school.
Students come from throughout India to learn this trade.  The courses are various lengths.

Coir is the outer husk or fiber from coconut.  Coir is a Mamyalam work Kayer or kayaru.  
To be twisted.

The first factory was set up in Alleppey in 1859.  But history shows it was used long before.

My first pics are from the Museum side.  The last pics are from the school side.

The process takes time

Old spinning wheels

Our guide was amazing, explaining all the machines

The looms changed lots over the years

This loom was developed especially for women

Another development to make the job easier for women

Shedding, Beating, winding

We did not know about the furniture

Flooring

Mats, Mats and more mats

Cocolawn, might be worth checking into

100% moth proof, rat and fungi resistant

More furniture

Provides excellent insulation against temperature and sound.

This is the beginning of our tour of the school.  The students were delightful

Also used in erosion control on river banks and hillsides

Brown coir is used in brushes, doormats, mattresses and sacking. A small amount is also made into twine. 

Some of the Teachers

Brown coir is used in brushes, doormats, mattresses and sacking. A small amount is also made into twine. Pads of curled brown coir fibre, made by needle-felting (a machine technique that mats the fibres together) are shaped and cut to fill mattresses and for use in erosion control on river banks and hillsides. A major proportion of brown coir pads are sprayed with rubber latex which bonds the fibres together (rubberized coir) to be used as upholstery padding for the automobile industry in Europe. The material is also used for insulation and packaging. The major use of white coir is in rope manufacture. Mats of woven coir fibre are made from the finer grades of bristle and white fibre using hand or mechanical looms. Coir is recommended as substitute for milled peat moss because it is free of bacteria and fungal spores.

Total world coir fibre production is 250,000 tonnes. The coir fibre industry is particularly important in some areas of the developing world. India, mainly the coastal region of Kerala State, produces 60% of the total world supply of white coir fibre. Sri Lanka produces 36% of the total world brown fibre output. Over 50% of the coir fibre produced annually throughout the world is consumed in the countries of origin, mainly India.

If you are visiting Kerala, this is worth the visit.  All the students wanted to show us what they were learning.