The Covid-19 pandemic that turned the State of Kerala topsy-turvy since 2020 has been beaten in one sector by women’s power- the coir industry. An economic activity which had only tragic stories to tell the world till five years ago has made a turnaround as workers and exporters are laughing their way to the Banks.
Coir, once rated as the Golden Fiber of Kerala as it used to earn high foreign exchange, the coir industry had hit the rock bottom because of the reluctance of political masters to change in tune with the new world order. Mechanization and digitization were portrayed as taboo and this resulted in small sectors ending up as sick units.
“Not any more. The last five years brought in a lot of changes because of the intervention of the Ministry of Small and Medium Industries. All small and medium units that shifted to power looms brought in revolutionary changes in the industry. It has benefited women in a big way,” Sumi Shibu, a homemaker in Alappuzha’s Cherthala town who owns a small coir unit employing 20 women workers, told The Pioneer.
She said the coir units (small and medium) in the State owe it to the employment generation programme and Mudra Loan scheme of the Centre and the intervention made by Coir Board for this turn around. “More than 30 families linked to my unit could counter the economic slow down caused by the pandemic. This is the case with other units too because all of us shifted to power looms with the financial assistance offered by the Ministry of SME,” said Sumi,
The Coir sector will soon see new and premium products hitting the market. On the anvil is designer bags and carry bags made of coir which would oust the plastic bags from high end shops like star hotels, boutiques, jewellery shops and the likes, according to Doraiswami Kuppuramu, chairman, Coir Board. Speaking to The Pioneer at Coir House, the head quarters of Coir Board, Kuppuramu, said the Board’s horizon is expanding from Kerala and Tamil Nadu to pan-India. “We are out to make wealth from waste and soon come out with eco-friendly products. Earlier out attention was on exporting and somehow we missed the opportunities on domestic market. We will exploit the hitherto unexplored segments like Coir Pith, Coir GeoTextiles which are sure to help the workers supplement their incomes in a big way,” said Kuppuramu.
Coir Piths are useful in saving water while coir geotextiles prevent soil erosion, he pointed out. “There are seven lakh workers directly employed by the Coir Industry as on date. Around 80 per cent of the workers are women and henc we are playing a major role in rural women empowerment,” said the Chairman.
Export of Coir and Coir products during 2020-2021 made record earning of Rs 3,800 crore, said Kuppuramu. He fully concurred with Sumi who said that Coir was the only industry to register victory in the battle against Covid-19. A lot has changed in the coir industry thanks to the employment generation programme of the Union Government, said Sumi. But she had reservations against the Kerala Government’s callousness towards the sector. “Unless the industries department of Kerala starts serious initiatives, the sector would not grow in the State.
Coir Directorate should come forward and help the small and medium units to market their products and make fund available as loans for us to work,” said Sumi. She said that the industry would survive only if the administration chips in to increase the income from the sector. “Craftsmen should be encouraged and workers should be benefitted. That part remains with State Governnents,” said Sumi.
It may be remembered that many workers in the sector who were left jobless by the recession had resorted to the extreme step by making use of coir. Not any more. Now coir helps lakhs to survive.