Coconut: “The Tree of Life”
Mai Kao Yang
History (in theory)
• Theory
- 80 million years ago
- Southern Hemisphere, Gondwana
History
• 4th-century B.C., Sanskrit’s writing
• 1st –century to 4th century A.D, Tamil literature
• India
- 2-3 thousands years ago, making it the oldest traditional
crop grown
• Marco Polo
- Expedition to India, recognize it as the “Pharaoh's nut”
Global Economy
• 1996
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Indonesia~ 3,745 hectares
Philippines~ 3,093
India~ 1, 796
Sri Lanka~ 419
Thailand~ 377
6.
7.
Malaysia~ 208
Papua New Guinea~ 260
India
• Kerala state is the lead
of production in India
-
Located at the south
tip, bordering water
and closest to
equator
Coconut Management
• Highly sensitive to soil moisture
 Rainfall total of 1800 mm evenly throughout the year
 As little as 1000 mm will prove to be optimum
 Takes up to a year for coconuts to mature
o Bloom up to thirteen times a year
o Continuous harvest year-round
o Average harvest of 60 coconuts/ tree
o Some trees yielding at three times that amount
Technology
• A number of devices have been developed to assist in the
processes of harvesting and dehusk coconut operation
• Devices are electrical and/or solar generated
Modern Method
Traditional Method
Oil Milling
Consumption
• Coconut crab aka robber crab




Type of hermit crab
1 meter in length
3 kilogram in weight
Can actually drown
• Cattle
 By-product (oil cake) of coconut after extraction for oil
fuel
• Most well- known
-
Coconut oil
• Recently start appearing and
is on high demand
-
Nata-de-coco; meat of mature coconut
Desiccated coconut; dried and
shredded coconut flakes
Spray dried coconut cream powder
Skim milk
Health Concern?!?!
• 1930, misconception that coconut and coconut oil are
health hazard
- Thought to cause heart disease
- Is pretty “fatty”, little over 50% of coconut contain
medium chain fatty acid, Lauric acid
- Once in the human body it changes to monlaurins ,
which is found in mother’s breast milk
• Coconut is the next best option to breast milk
Addition Health Benefits
• Powerful against
- Antibacterial
- Antiviral
- Antifungal agents
- HIV are sensitive to coconut oil
•Excellent moisturizer for dry skin
•Coconut oil is absorbed quickly and give energy like
carbohydrate
Sociocultural
• Epic, classic Hindu stories: Ramayana
• Coconut hold a high place in the Indian culture, no ritual or
ceremony is performed without it
-
Used in both social and religious ceremonies: worshipping,
marriages, festivals, decorations, etc.
• Small farmers are the backbone to the coconut culture
• Coconut provide sole income but, the price of coconut is
determined by coconut oil which is influence by supplies and
demand
Case Study~ Coir Women Workers
Vaikom Taluk
• Small village factory
• 13% are without electricity
• Employ regular 8-10 women each
day
• Normal shift: 8 to 6 p.m.
• High demand: two shift period
- 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Lunch hours 1.5 hours
• Don’t interact with the middleman
Kadakkarappally Panchaysat
• Home-based cottage industry
• 50% are without electricity
• Majority of the women in the
village work in the factory
• Work every day, except Sunday,
• Shift from 8 to 5:30 p.m.
• Work outside in all types of
weather
• Interact with the middleman
Result
• Doesn’t matter if working in a small village factory or a home-based
cottage industry
- Both wages and conditions remains the same for women coir workers
in Kerala
• Stakeholder: lack of technology is hurting, however, the women fear
that with it, they will be put out of work
Sustainability
• Mix-cropping system
- Australia: coconut, cocoa, coffee along with cattle grazing
- Ceylon/ Sri Lanka: coconut, tea, and rubber
• Coir products: husk from the coconut are bio-degradability
• India
- Biomass fuel supply average size family, 30-40 palm tree
• Coconut oil fuel
- By- products: “oil cake” is fed to cattle
“The day of coconut as mainly or solely a monoculture appears to
be almost over.”
The end
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