Kerala the Land of Coconuts, have been technologically innovating with Coconut over many decades. Some of the innovations attempted have been very successful with an aim to sustain it in a profitable way. It has been proved generations ago that the husk of a coconut has long fibers that could be spun and woven into ropes, mats and nets. The tensile strength of these ropes are simply great. This simple idea of its tensile strength has been taken into account for processing them into GeoTextiles that could be used for covering eroding landscapes that could help further inundation. These Coir Geotextiles are also called Coir Bhoovastra. These were actually used in 2019 to cover slopes, streams bunds, canals and river banks and they are been proved great for slopestabilisation. These kinds of work will also provide livelihoods to people.
These Geo textiles have open cells that will collect the disturbed soil and act as check dams ensuring soil erosion. After the coir degrades over the years the soil is strengthened. This also acts as a mulch and provide enrichment to the soil. They are supposed to be naturally resistant to molds, bacteria and could retain a great amount of moisture.
Taking into consideration the volume and variability of the Rainfall and flash floods that happens in Kerala, Officials need to step up measures and will have identify the spots that require immediate slope management in the state#Monsoon2020
The Coir Industry at present is heard to be limping back to normalcy after a series of lockdown due to COVID-19 and zero exports in March and April. With the major share of Coir products exported the industry have been hit hard. The lack of raw material supply from Tamilnadu also has affected the industry. Currently with a workforce of 50 % the industry will see a full workforce in the coming months.
Images Courtesy: Coir Geotextiles FB page
