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More coco facts

July 1999

Coconut also known as the "tree of life" is a multi-use commodity. From the trunk to the leaves to the fruits, a lot of things can be made out of them. Here are some examples of coconut products and other interesting (some odd) facts about the tree.

• One third of arable agricultural land, that is, 3 million hectares, is planted to coconut.
  
• Coconut is on top among all agricultural commodities. It earns an annual average of US$800 million from exports of 30 traditional and non-traditional coconut products and by products.
  
• The by-products of coconut include copra meal, activated carbon, coconut shell charcoal, coir, and coir dust.
  
• The end products of coconut include detergents, cosmetics, margarine, cooking oil, confectionery, vinegar and nata de coco.
  
• Twenty million Filipinos derive their livelihood from the coconut.
  
• Coconuts can now be cloned through tissue culture. Tissue culture is a relatively new approach in the propagation of elite, high-yielding and disease-resistant palms. It is an asexual technique of propagation by using the tissues of immature coconut flowers, buds and embryos. But tissue culture can be traced back to the 60's when Dr. de Guzman of the Philippines started her work on embryo culture.
  
• There is such a thing as the "coconut cult. "Polynesians worship coconut as a god. They gave names to the different stages of development of the coconut starting from the seednut. A Papua New Guinean legend says that coconut came into existence even before the creation of men and that the natives take pride in calling themselves as coconut people.
  
• In some parts of Malaysia, the water of young tender coconuts is said to be good for curing asthma, food poisoning and reducing high blood pressure. It is done by burning the nuts, husk and shell for about an hour until three quarters of the husk turns black. The water is then drunk after cooling.
  
• The coconut sap can be used as medium for painting. An artist from the Philippines has been using coconut sap for the past decade in his quest for a truly Filipino identity and for economic reasons. He said that the coconut sap painting does not easily fade.
  
• Coconuts are used to ward off the evil spirits in Sri Lanka. The young king coconut and the king coconut inflorescence are used in the voodoo removing ceremonies.

(Sources: YearBook '97 Food and Agribusiness, Coconut News Magazine Special Edition 1998, The Cocomunity January-June 1999.)

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July 1999

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