Sweta Daga

Siddhita Sonavane

Editor

Urja

Video Editor

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Islands of the Lakshadweep archipelago abound in coconut trees, and the extraction of coir from the fruit&#39;s husk is a major industry here.  Twisting coir is among the principal occupations along with fishing and coconut cultivation. Lakshadweep has seven coconut defibering units, six coir yarn production centres and seven fibre curling units (Census 2011). The sector employs over seven lakh workers in the country, 80 per cent of them are <a href="https://msme.gov.in/sites/default/files/Coir-Vikas-YojanaContents.pdf">women</a> who are engaged in the extraction and spinning of coir fibre to yarn. Making coir products is still a labour intensive job, despite the advances in technology and the move from manual to machine.At the Coir Production cum Demonstration Centre in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep, a group of 14 women run six machines to extract coir and make ropes. Working eight-hour shifts a day from Monday to Saturday, they earn around Rs. 7,700 a month. The first half of the shift is for rope making and the second for cleaning the equipment, says 50-year-old worker Rahmath Beegum B. The ropes are sold to the Coir Board in Kerala for Rs. 35 a kilogram.Before these defibering and curling units, coir fibre was traditionally extracted by hand from the husk of coconut shells, spun into threads and twisted together to make mats, ropes and nets. Fathima says, “Our grandparents would get up at five in the morning, and would go to the north of Kavaratti near the sea to bury coconuts in sand for a month.”“They would then pound the [coconut] fibre out into ropes, like this …” adds the 38-year-old, demonstrating the technique. “Today’s ropes aren’t of good quality, they are very light,” says the newsreader at All India Radio, Kavaratti.Abdul Khadar, from Bitra village, Lakshadweep, recalls how he would make coir ropes by hand. He would use these ropes to tie his boat, says the 63-year-old fisherman. Read:<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-great-coral-grief-of-lakshadweep-islands/"> The great coral grief of Lakshadweep islands</a>The video follows Abdul Khadar and workers from Kavaratti coir production centre as they make ropes out of coir fibre, one in the traditional way and the other, modern.

Lakshadweep's coir workers

لکشدیپ میں ناریل کی رسی بنانے والی خواتین کاریگر

లక్షద్వీపాల కొబ్బరి పీచు పనివారు

லட்சத்தீவில் கயிறு முறுக்கும் தொழிலாளர்கள்

ਲਕਸ਼ਦੀਪ ਦੇ ਕੋਇਰ ਕਾਮੇ

ଲାକ୍ଷାଦ୍ୱୀପର ନଡ଼ିଆ କତା ଶ୍ରମିକ

ಲಕ್ಷದ್ವೀಪದ ತೆಂಗಿನ ನಾರಿನ ಕಾರ್ಮಿಕರು

लक्षद्वीप के कोएर श्रमिक

કાથીના દોરડા બનાવનારા લક્ષદ્વીપના શ્રમિકો

लक्षद्वीप के कोइर मजूर

लक्षद्वीप में कोइर से रसड़ी बनावे वाला मजूर

লাক্ষাদ্বীপের নারকেল ছোবড়ার কাজে নিযুক্ত মজুরদের কথা

লক্ষদ্বীপত নাৰিকলৰ ৰছী বনোৱা শ্ৰমিক

ലക്ഷദ്വീപിന്റെ കയർത്തൊഴിലാളികൾ

Kavaratti

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Lakshadweep's coir workers

Spinning coir fibre to make ropes is an important livelihood in this Arabian Sea archipelago. Watch women workers as they show you the various techniques involved

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