Shyma T. is president of the Samruddhi Chagiri Samskarana Unit, a six-member Kudumbasree unit at Ammanampara in Kannur. The model coir defibering unit, which started nearly three months ago, is an attempt by Kudumbasree to find new job avenues for women in the State’s traditional coir sector.
As the government takes concrete steps to modernise the coir sector, Kudumbasree too has jumped on the bandwagon by launching a mechanised coir defibering unit in the State.
Minister for Finance T.M. Thomas Isaac inaugurated the coir defibering unit, which produces fibre from raw coconut husk. Shyma’s unit, since its launch, has produced 2,710 kg of fibre, and sent it to Coirfed in Alappuzha. It gets paid ₹17 for a kg of fibre.
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The women, who had been working as manual labourers or tailors or not at all, say the business is doing fine, and they hope to keep it going.
M. Surjith, Kudumbasree District Mission Coordinator, says two more defibering units are expected to start functioning this month.
In the first phase, Kudumbasree plans to start 30 such defibering units across the State. The defibering machines, which cost ₹10 lakh, will be provided by Kerala State Coir Machine Manufacture Company at 90% subsidy.
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In Thrissur
In Thrissur, a unit is likely to start functioning in Alagappa Nagar grama panchayat in Kodagara block within a month.
The location, in the women’s industrial park for Scheduled Castes, and the Kudumbasree group — a six-member group of Scheduled Caste women — have been finalised.
The defibering unit, which includes machines for defibering and baling, will be able to process 8,000 husks in eight hours, say officials of the district Kudumbasree Mission. Talks have been held with the local body to ensure steady supply of raw husk from coconut clusters in the block and those nearby.
Plans are on to convert the coir pith left after defibering into manure and hand it over to Kerala Agricultural University.
The other options include starting a nursery or using the pith to manufacture eco-friendly flower pots, thereby ensuring additional income for the women. Projects to start production of value-added products will be considered.
There are also plans to launch units for producing door and floor mats and aquarium filters.
Besides Thrissur, work is on to launch such units in Malappuram and Kasaragod. The mechanisation is expected to reduce the workload, thereby saving time, while enhancing production. In the second phase, electronic ratts will be introduced to produce coir and other value-added products.