Coconut Coir

Coconut coir is a fibre produced from the dried husks of tender coconuts. The young coconuts are encased in a thick, green layer comprises of many fibres knitted together; when this husk is dried the fibres can be pulled apart and the individual strands separated. These fibres, known as coir, can be used to spin threads, produce rope or as a filling for mattresses.

= Processing = The husk is made up of coir fibres and coir pith, generally in a 1:2 ratio. The pith is removed in a process called retting. The husks are suspended in brackish water for 6-11 months, ideally with a tidal ebb, allowing the pectin in the matrix to dissolve. The husks are then beaten with wooden mallets to separate out the pith.

Mechanised combing machines are now used to remove the pith from the coir fibres. These combs are high-torque motorised wheels with sturdy steel pins; the halved coconut husks are fed into the machine with crushes them and pulls apart the fibres with the pins.

= Ropemaking = In Kerala, as well as other parts of southern India, a cottage rope-making industry exists that utilises coconut coir, a by-product that is available in abundance due to the large scale coconut farming in the area.

Traditionally, the fibres are spun by either twisting between the palms or by using pair of spinning wheels known as ratts.

Spinning fibres is a process that normally involves two people walking backwards with a bag of coir and feeding it, through their hands, into a thread that is being twisted by a third person using a ratt. This process, known as inducing, results in a single, twisted strand. Once the inducers have walked as far as desired (the distance of the rope walk dictates the length of the product), the two strands they have produced are then attached to a second ratt, at the far end from the first, and this is quickly spun in the opposite direction. One of the inducers walks the length of the rope and, using a v-shaped piece of wood with a groove cut down each end, feeds the spinning strands into a single, two-stranded rope.

The finished rope is held together by the friction of the strands attempting to untwist against one another: the change in direction ensures that the forces are opposed and the tension is maintained. Spinning machines have also been developed to produce single and double yarns; some machines are capable of processing the raw fibres whilst others require an induced yarn to be used. Once a single yarn has been produced, it is paired with a second yarn and doubled to create thicker rope. This doubling process can be repeated several times to produce thicker and stronger ropes. Automated braiding machines have also been developed.

Coconut fibre ropes are extremely cheap in India, due, in part, to the low wages the workers receive. The ropes are of a good quality, however, and will biodegrade entirely when retired.

Additional photographs can be seen here