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Have you ever stood under a coconut palm for shelter during a rainstorm? Hmmm. Not such a good idea. A big issue being falling coconuts. A full grown coconut falling from near the top of the palm turns it into a deadly projectile. If you value your brain, get out from under that coconut palm in a hurry. And listen to the thuds from a safe distance as the coconuts hit the ground.
If you view a coconut as a furry brown ball that’s for sale at the grocer, let me tell you that It’s just the inner seed pod. The layers that are missing are a smooth green or brown skin and inside that a fibrous layer that acts as a shock-absorber, protecting the inner seed pod from damage when the coconut falls to the ground.
Now that inner fibrous layer is not wasted. It is known as coir fibre and eventually it makes its way into coir doormats.
The fibrous husks are soaked in ponds for several months to swell and loosen the fibres. Then they’re beaten to separate out the long fibres which are then dried. Next there’s hand spinning into a fine yarn and twisting to make the very long and strong coir strings which can then be loaded into large hand-looms ready for weaving the doormats.
When we buy and place a coir doormat on our front door, we stand in solidarity with the workers who have endured a long struggle for their basic human rights and provide a market for their eco-friendly natural products.