Cocofiber and Cocopeat Production

Pre-production Period:

How we started the cocofiber and cocopeat production is a story that needs to be told to those enterpreneuers who value relationships with poor farmers and the families they have to support.

We started our cocofiber and cocopeat production on last week of January 2009. After 3 years of studying and surveying areas to put the production of cocofiber, we have finally decided that the best place to put up an experimental production area is to use existing old defibering machine in Samar Island where coconut trees grow abundantly.

My staff and I went to a small barangay in the hinterlands of Paranas, Samar, to inspect a defibering machine that has not been used for more than 3 years, owned by a multi-purpose cooperative, and badly needed repairs and rehabilitation. We negotiated for a 1 to 2 year contract to have it rented on a monthly basis, and with all costs of the repair and rehabilitation of the entire workplace deducted from the rent.

The defibering or decorticating machine was still working, but needed new battery, motor oil change, rubber belts, and spark plugs. The nipa roof, made of coconut leaves, of the workplace was worn out, and needed replacement.

Everything else was working. We just needed to put a new roof, and the muddy road going inside had to be topped up with rocks so that it does not get messy when we walk through.

The other machine which makes matting was not used because the market is too small for that. We are more involved into production of cocofiber as raw materials for use in the furniture industry, from beds to sofas, and to fiberboards.

After surveying the area, we decided immediately to sign contract for 1 year with extensions, and started to purchase the materials needed to rehabilitate the place. But then the multi-purpose cooperative took it upon themselves to do it and just pay them their cost (including their own coop members ). We did question this motive several times but then I understood that petty corruption in the cooperative is a way of life. How else will they keep moving if they do not earn what they needed for everyday living.

So the defibering machine was fixed, and after few days it was already up and running with minor delays.

Now we turned to our suppliers of coconut husk. We also surveyed the area where the multi-purpose cooperative was located. It is situated in a highly-dense coconut growing area. The main source of income the families are actually coconut- from copra to coco shell, and coco wine.

When we sent out fliers that we were buying coconut husk in sacks, a lot of families in the barangay responded with fervor. They wanted to sell the husks which was actually waste and used for smoking the coconut meat to turn into copra. But a lot of it are just waste. Here comes a company who will add an income for the family from their coconut trees. The selling was a frenzy. We organized a buying station where the farmers would sell their coconut husk along the road. Our staff would come to check the sacks full of husks, pay and load it, and deliver to our warehouse situated a block away from the cooperative.

We did have some initial difficulty in getting our pricing right. First we bought the husks at a higher price, and the quality low. After one load of around 250 sacks, I noticed that some of the husks were of low quality - rotten and full of mud. So the second time we picked up the sacks, we have to unload them first to check it, and then select the high quality husks. Our truck was always fully stacked up. I then noticed that we were running out of sacks as the farmers were asking for sacks themselves. I changed the system of buying after knowing that the sacks were expensive and runs out almost everyday at the market.

Our warehouse was stacked with more than 250 sacks of coconut husks in just 3 days of buying. It eventually went up to more than 500 sacks before we implemented the direct hauling and dumping system using only sacks that the families have provided for their stockpiling. As the defibering machine was running regularly, it became unnecessary to stockpile the coconut husks at the warehouse and instead we directly dump the collected coconut husks direct at the factory yard for processing into cocofibers.

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