Starter Kit. Idea 186 of 500. Cluster 8
Coir from the husk: matting, rope, mats that hold soil on slopes, and potting material for plant nurseries
The mechanism, from the book
The whole-nut principle. Sri Lanka's coconut exports are growing, which makes this the one chain already moving. Almost every part of the nut has a market and most of them leave the island unprocessed.
The first step
Visit a coir mill near you and ask what they sell fibre for and to whom. Then choose one finished product, rope, matting or a growing block, and ask the mill for a small run. Send samples and a price to two landscaping or erosion-control contractors and one horticulture supplier, and ask what they would order. Their order tells you which product to make.
- Who pays first
- A landscaping contractor or horticulture supplier who wants a natural fibre product bought from its origin, not a middleman.
- What leaves today
- Husk fibre leaves as bales of raw coir, while the matting, geotextiles and growing media made from it sell at far higher prices abroad.
Ask first
- Coconut Development Authority. Ask which coir mills near you sell fibre to small makers.
- Sri Lanka Export Development Board. Ask which buyers abroad want finished coir products rather than loose fibre.
Check before you spend
Whether the mill's fibre meets the cleanliness and plant-health rules a buyer abroad sets for potting material, and who certifies it before shipping.
Find out these three numbers
- What does a mill charge for a bale of fibre today?
- What does a finished coir mat or rope sell for abroad?
- How many units a week can one small workshop make?
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.