The nucleus of the research in coir was laid at Alleppey with the appointment of a coir technologist way back in 1955, and the Central Coir Research Institute( CCRI) was established in the year, 1959. Today the Institute has an array of advanced machineries and facilities to carry out the frontier research activities. The contribution of this Institute for the development of coir industry ever since its inception has earned many a laurels from many national and international research organizations. The Institute is recognized by International Agencies like Australian Quarantine Inspection Service [AQIS] for testing of coir pith and listed on the online Directory of testing laboratories of American Society of Testing Materials [ASTM].

Coir has been playing an important role in the economy of Kerala, especially the coastal districts of the State. The social life of people across these districts is closely knit with the warp and weft of the products manufactured in the coir units. Of late, the industry has begun to make its presence felt in other coconut producing States of the country as well. The State of Tamil Nadu has gone much ahead in this respect and in fact large quantities of coir fibre required by the export oriented production units located in Alleppey source their raw material from the State. In the case of mechanization also, the State of Tamil Nadu has been making rapid strides and a large number of entrepreneurs are currently entering into the industry. Similarly, the proliferation of this industry in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and in some non-traditional States like Gujarat has been quite encouraging.

As we all know, the world economy has been reeling under an economic recession and it is emerging out of its clutches slowly. In the aftermath of the onslaught of the recession, one item which stood conspicuous by its steady performance was coir. The depression in the economic world did not affect the exports of coir and it proved its stencil strength against the rapids and currents in the world economy. During the year, 2009-10, the export of coir and coir products is all set to surpass the target of Rs.700/- crores, an all time high export performance from the country. During the year, up to Decembers, 2009, the export of coir and coir products from the country was 1,79,667 MTs valued at Rs.555.03 crores. When compared to the same period of the previous year, there has been an increase to the tune of 30.38% in quantity and 19.44 % in terms of value.

Modern Technology

The intervention of CCRI in the coir industry has been instrumental in making the coir industry in the country a modern sunshine industry. There q1were times when mechanization and modernization were not acceptable terms for the industry since they were supposed to cause reduction in employment opportunities. Now, it has been proved beyond doubt that modern technology is a boon to the industry thanks to the efforts of Coir Board and its Research and Development wing. With the eradication of crude production and processing methods and introduction of modern equipments, more and more units are established in factory set up with higher degree of mechanization. This has resulted in increased productivity, better quality of products and better income both to the entrepreneur and the labourer.

Employment Opportunities

The younger generation which was once averse to take up jobs in the coir industry due to low wages and crude production and processing methods are now coming forward to take up employment opportunities generated in the sector. Earlier, the industry used to offer only seasonal employment opportunities to the workers due to monsoon and demands of the trade. Now, the factory set up provides regular employment to the workers and resultantly, the standard of living of workers has been increasing steadily.

Major Contributions

Some of the contributions of the Central Coir Research Institute have been major milestones in the history of coir industry. The development of “coirret’ by the Institute has revolutionized the production process of “white fibre” by reducing the processing period considerably. This process has also made the job of the workers in the industry easier and hygienic. It is an eco-friendly zero effluent process. Another contribution of the CCRI has been “pithplus” which elevated the status of coir pith from a menacing substance to a “money spinner”, as it found application as a hundred percent natural manure suitable for a host of crops and horticulture applications. The recent invention of the CCRI, the Mobile Fibre Extraction Machine is going to be an epoch making incident in the history of coir industry by eradicating the perennial problem of shortage of coir fibre in the State of Kerala. In addition to the coir industry, the machine will also help the coconut cultivators by providing additional income to the farmers in the form of income from selling coconut husk which was thrown away as a waste material. The fibre extracted through this machine can be further treated by the eco-friendly process of “coirret” or a “conditioner” treatment developed by CCRI recently so as to prepare the best quality of coir fibres for spinning.

The day is not far when the coir fibres blended with other natural fibres will provide new opportunities for development of various value added products like soft luggage, conference bags, shopping bags, curtains and Venetian blinds etc. CCRI has already made a breakthrough in this area of research. The dyeing of such products with natural dyes will add further value to these products in terms of eco-friendliness.

It seems that two factors which are going to be of immense help to the industry are globalization and the growing concern over the degradation of environment. Along with the growing consciousness of people on the need of turning to environment friendly products for their needs, the exposure of such products to the customer is also becoming instant due to the ubiquitous internet access and online facilities. The coir industry is yet to fully utilize these opportunities. Owing to the environment friendly nature of the products of this industry, the industry can play a major role in the new vista of Carbon Trading.