Coconut: “The Tree of Life”
Mai Kao Yang
History (in theory)
-80 million years ago
-Southern Hemisphere, Gondwana
History
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4th-century B.C., Sanskrit’s writing
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1st –century to 4th century A.D, Tamil literature
-
India
-2-3 thousands years ago, making it the oldest traditional crop grown
– Expedition to India, recognize it as the “Pharaoh’s nut”
– India
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Kerala state is the lead of production in India
-Located at the south tip, bordering water and closest to equator
Coconut Management
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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
oBloom up to thirteen times a year
oContinuous harvest year-round
oAverage harvest of 60 coconuts/ tree
oSome trees yielding at three times that amount
Technology
Consumption
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Coconut crab aka robber crab
-Type of hermit crab
-1 meter in length
-3 kilogram in weight
-Can actually drown
-By-product (oil cake) of coconut after extraction for oil fuel
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
-
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
Addition Health Benefits
Sociocultural
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Epic, classic Hindu stories: Ramayana
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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.
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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
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Small village factory
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13% are without electricity
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Employ regular 8-10 women each day
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Normal shift: 8 to 6 p.m.
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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
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Home-based cottage industry
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50% are without electricity
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Majority of the women in the village work in the factory
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Work every day, except Sunday,
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Shift from 8 to 5:30 p.m.
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Work outside in all types of weather
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Interact with the middleman
Result
Sustainability
-Australia: coconut, cocoa, coffee along with cattle grazing
-Ceylon/ Sri Lanka: coconut, tea, and rubber
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Coir products: husk from the coconut are bio-degradability
-
India
-Biomass fuel supply average size family, 30-40 palm tree
-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
