Coconut husk uses – La bourre de la noix de coco et ses utilisations

©R. Bourdeix, 2021, section CCH.

For illustrating this section, we can produce on request at least twelve large size HD posters (up to 180x100 cm in size).These posters should be adapted to each country, on a case-by-case basis, in order to prominently feature locally produced coconut products, and to promote the marketing of these local products. It is also possible to buy or rent items from the personal collection of Dr R. Bourdeix.


The smaller coconuts can easily
fit into the internal cavity of the larger coconuts!

The coconut epidermis, which is first coloured then greyish-brown when ripe, surrounds a tough, fibrous envelope called "husk". Mature nuts sold on the market have already been dehusked to reduce their weight and volume. Coir or Coconut fibre, mainly obtained from ripe coconut, is the natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut. The coconut is steeped in hot seawater, and subsequently, the fibres are removed from the shell by combing and crushing.

  1. CCHR. Rope and its use - Corde
  2. CCHU. Unbraided fiber - Fibre non tressée
  3. CCHH. Horticulture - Horticulture
  4. CCHF. Edible husk  - Bourre comestible
  5. CCHJ. Husk Jewels - Bijouterie
  6. CCHA.Husk Carving - Sculpture
  7. CCHC. Clothes - Vêtements
  8. CCHF. Husk freaks - Raretés botaniques
  9. CCHM. Medicinal - Usages médicinaux
  10. CCHO. Other Husk uses - Autres usages
The individual fibre cells are narrow and hollow with thick walls made of cellulose, and each cell is about 1 mm long and 10–20 μm in diameter. The raw coconut fibres show length varying from 15 to 35 cm and diameter from 50 to 300 μm. They are white when immature and become hardened and yellowed because a layer of lignin is deposited on their walls. Coconut fibre shows a good stiffness and is used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, mattresses, coarse filling material, and upholstery.

Coir has a wealth of uses from bedding, flooring, and packaging to cordage and rope manufacture. White coir is used for rope manufacture and to make fishing nets due to its strong resistance to saltwater. Red coir is used in household goods such as mattresses, brushes, doormats, floor mats, flooring, and sacking. Brown coir is mainly used for insulation, packaging, and upholstery. Coir must not be confused with coir pith, which is the powdery and spongy material resulting from the processing of the coir fibre. Pith is chemically similar to coir, but contains much shorter fibres.
Chinese traditional clothing made of coconut fibre

See also why, during his presidency, John F. Kennedy decorated his desk with a paperweight made out of an old, battered coconut husk.
 
Loading Coconut husk in West Africa (Ivory Coast)

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Extraction of coconut fibre in Sri Lanka

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A modernist and futuristic armchair made from coconut fibers

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Coconut husk covered in moss,
and rotting in a humid tropical plantation

You are currently visiting the Unique Coconut Palace, so please forget about normality! Expect to see coconuts with one, two, three, four and five holes, coconuts with two or three kernels, or filled with kernels and without water, twin coconuts, square coconuts, horned coconuts with one, two or three horns, and many other extraordinary things that celebrate the magnificent diversity of coconuts.



We have dedicated an entire website
to describing all the coconut freaks in the world.
 Click on the image to access it.