Coir is the thickest and most resistant of all commercial natural fibres, coir is a coarse, short fibre extracted from the outer shell of coconuts. Its low decomposition rate means is a key advantage for making durable geo-textiles.

 

The plant

Coir is extracted from the tissues surrounding the seed of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), which is grown on 10 million ha of land throughout the tropics

 

The fibre
Coir fibres measure up to 35 cm in length with a diameter of 12-25 microns. A coconut harvest occurs once in 45 days. From 1000 coconuts it would be possible to extract 10 kgs of coir. Among vegetable fibres, coir has one of the highest concentrations of lignin, making it stronger but less flexible than cotton and unsuitable for dyeing. The tensile strength of coir is low compared to abaca, but it has good resistance to microbial action and saltwater damage and needs no chemical treatment.

 

 There are two types of coir:  the more commonly used brown fibre, which is obtained from mature coconuts, and finer white fibre, which is extracted from immature green coconuts after soaking for up to 10 months. Mature coir fibres contain more lignin, a complex woody chemical, and less cellulose than fibres such as flax or cotton.

 

Environmental benefits 

Coir is a material which is widely used to overcome the problem of erosion. When woven into geotextiles and placed on areas in need of erosion control it promotes new vegetation by absorbing water and preventing topsoil from drying out. Coir geotextiles have a natural ability to retain moisture and protect from the suns radiation just like natural soil, and unlike geosynthetic materials, it provides good soil support for up to three years, allowing natural vegetation to become established.

 

Coir industry development

Much of coir production is done by smallholders meaning production is scattered and at small volumes. Integrated farm level processing as a community/cooperative approach would help to facilitate greater availability of technology to process the husk and extract the fibre in volumes needed for industrial buyers. Since many of the developing countries growing coconuts are not utilizing coconut husk to produce value-added products, providing such facilities can go along way to provide employment, increase the income of coconut farmers and reduce poverty and provide environmental benefits associated with the use of the nutrient-rich waste product.