Tiruchi entrepreneur makes biodegradable coir pots to promote eco-friendly gardening material

For the last three years, R. Madhana has been reaching out to women’s self-help groups to teach them about the commercial potential of flower pots made with coir dust, a waste product derived from the fibrous mesocarp (middle layer) of the coconut husk. She is now trying to empower local businesswomen to venture into this full-time

For the last three years, R. Madhana has been reaching out to women’s self-help groups to teach them about the commercial potential of flower pots made with coir dust, a waste product derived from the fibrous mesocarp (middle layer) of the coconut husk. She is now trying to empower local businesswomen to venture into this full-time.

With the help of a hot press die cutting machine installed at a demonstration unit in Srirangam, Ms. Madhana’s firm, ‘Saini Eco Products and Exports’, creates six- and eight-inch planter pots, and smaller ‘root trainers’ that can replace plastics in gardening and agricultural operations.

“Coir dust used to be thrown away earlier or burned by farmers. Few people are aware of the value-added products that can be made with it. These pots are completely biodegradable, and since the material is naturally absorbent, can reduce the amount of water used in gardening,” the entrepreneur told The Hindu.

Ms. Madhana maintains a training workshop in Srirangam and a production unit at Aranthangi for client orders. Coir is sourced from farmers in and around Aranthangi while the natural latex needed to bind the matting is brought from Kerala.

“I am trying to help more women join this sector in our district,” said Ms. Madhana. As a pilot project, she has tie-up with producers in nearby cities, to buy back the coir pots made with her machine.

With an early exposure to her family’s coconut farming and trade in Karur, Ms. Madhana, a former schoolteacher, studied the coir value-addition process for over two years by visiting different units in Pollachi district.

“I realised that to keep costs low, I would have to downsize the existing machinery and raw material to our requirement,” she said. Ms. Madhana designed the hot press die cutting machine worth ₹3.5 lakh that has been installed at Srirangam, which cuts coconut fibre matting into pots. Workers use a hand-held spray gun to treat the coconut fibre with a latex mixture, and create mats that can be moulded in the hot press cutter. “This is an affordable alternative to the felting machine, which gives a similar result,” Ms. Madhana said.