Coconut: an eco-friendly exotic fruit

Copyright Noireônaturel

"Coconut fiber, a by-product of the coconut, is also used in the industry:

Brushmaking (brooms), for which one of the raw materials is a selection of long, combed fibers from well-ripened coconuts (bristle fiber)

Matting, which for the manufacture of mats, rugs, runners, and especially doormats, uses a twine called "coir yarn," obtained from coconuts that have not yet reached full maturity (these fibers being more flexible). The "husks" (or "shells"), after being detached from the coconut, are grouped in nets and soaked for 6 to 10 months in pits or lagoons. This is retting, also used for the production of flax and hemp. The action of bacteria breaks down the gummy material that binds the fibers together; removed from the pits, the fibers are then beaten and dried in the sun. They are then ready for spinning, which is still done by hand on very rudimentary spinning wheels, mainly in Southern India, on the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala. A first thread is then cabled into two strands, made into skeins, and then into bobbins or bales, ready for export.

The shortest fibers (mattress fiber), the majority, are used for padding (seats, bedding) or, latexed, for sound insulation or as fuel."....

A complete fruit full of surprises, since coconut oil has culinary and cosmetic virtues, and coconut fibers are useful in many ways, both for making sponges and brooms, and for decoration thanks to carpets and other floor coverings.

Find our complete file on Noireônaturel.com