Property Plus
Coimbatore
Destined to be a natural favourite soon
An exhibition organised in Kochi as part of an all-India seminar on the National Building Code of India, 2005, brought out several facets of the building industry, especially the use of eco-friendly and naturally occurring materials for enhancing comfort and reducing cost.
Products with coir fibre as their basic raw material were on show at the exhibition. Among these were tables, stools, book racks, kitchen cabinets and so on. With glazed finish and eco-friendly nature, they are destined to be natural favourites in times to come.
These products are the results of a joint initiative by the Coir Board and the National Institute of Design (NID). The initiative is for long-term research for developing new applications of coir composite materials and designs.
It is expected that the technology for developing these materials and their designs will be made widely available.
Coir has been known to be one of the hottest fibres in the world market largely for its eco-friendly nature and the Coir Board has been engaged in research for developing new products such as coir composites, which have been test-marketed already. Response to coir composites has been positive.
Primarily, coir composites are substitutes for plywood, hardboard, medium density wood fibre boards and so on.
Replacing the use of tropical forest timber, coir composites go a long way in serving the cause of environment.
The magnitude of the destruction of tree cover is evident from the numbers provided in a souvenir released at the two-day seminar.
According to the estimate, 20,000 interior designers and architects in India use up 54,60,000 trees a year. This adds up to clearing of 50,753 acres of forests.
India, a timber-deficit country, relies heavily on imports and its annual requirement is 40 million cubic metres. Against this, the availability is 0.25 million cubic metres. This calls for identification of substitutes, supply of which can be sustained over a long period of time.
And it is estimated that coir composites can save trees in big numbers.
According to estimates, a unit of coir composites production with a capacity of 40 cubic metres a day can save 22 trees a day. Adding up the numbers will give a broad picture of the effect of more widespread use of coir composites.
The use of coir composites has been approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Indian Railways, along with the Central Public Works Department, while coirply has been approved for roofing in lieu of asbestos sheets.
In fact, coirply and composites is an industry that looks forward to a brighter future with widespread use and applications.
The industry holds enormous prospects for reducing the burden on environment as well as creating rural employment. Estimates say that only about 30 per cent of the available coconut husk is utilised.
K.A. MARTIN
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