The coconut palm tree (cocos nucifera) is one of the most useful trees in the world, providing nutritious food for millions of people around the world, particularly in the poorer, tropical regions. At any one time, a coconut palm has a dozen different crops of nuts and can produce up to 75 nuts per year. The coconut is best known for its milk and fruit. However, the husk of the coconut is surrounded by a mass of fibers, called coir fiber, which has numerous uses. Coir (rhymes with foyer) fiber has been used to aid in erosion control and can be woven into strong rope or twine, which may be used to create doormats, rugs, brooms and many other uses. Coir fiber is a by-product of the coconut; only about 1/3 of coir fiber available is used in commercial uses, making it an incredibly under-utilized natural resource.

Coconuts are harvested in several ways: by letting the nuts fall on the ground, by cutting the coconuts while standing on the ground with the use of knives attached to long bamboo poles, or by climbing the tree and cutting them down. The coconuts are either sun-dried or kiln-dried, and the coconut meat is harvested and used for food. The coir fiber is then processed from the ripe coconut husks, which are cured in freshwater for three to six months. The curing process increases the fiber’s resistance to UV (ultraviolet) degradation and increases its flexibility without causing deterioration.

While processing the coir fiber, the fiber from the cured husks is separated by skilled labor into different grades depending on the length of the fiber. The longer the fibers are, the stronger they are. The quality of coir doormats depends greatly on the grade of fiber used. The thicker doormats are made of the premium grade thicker fiber and will last much longer than the thin doormats made of the lower grade fiber.

Next, the coconut husk is dried, and it makes excellent firewood. The fiber can then used for commercial applications, such as doormats. Another common use for coir fiber is in erosion control, as coir fiber is one of the best natural sources to use in landscaping and soil erosion prevention.

Once the fiber is earmarked for use as a doormat, it is then divided into grades and hand-woven on traditional handlooms. This step is a traditional “cottage industry,” as the vast majority of coir doormats are made in village huts throughout the coconut regions. The finished doormats are brought into the factories for final processing, which includes shearing the doormats to an even level, dying them with any patterns, and packaging them for export. The best quality coir doormats have a thick, compact brush, as they are knotted very tightly in the weaving process. Some designs in coir doormats are actually woven out of different colors of fibers, while the rest are stenciled in. Designs can also be beveled to achieve an embossed effect.

Since coir doormats are made of natural fiber, they will “shed,” especially when new, just as new carpet installed in your house tends to shed for a few weeks after installation. To clean coir doormats simply shake them out or beat them as you would a carpet or rug. They can also be hosed off, but should be allowed to dry completely. Premium quality coir doormats function best when used on a covered porch, as when left to the elements they can take quite a long time to dry out after a rain. They do function very well, as they are comprised of thousands of bristle fibers, which scrub shoes and knock dirt off very well. For covered porches, natural coir fiber doormats are and have been a favorite of homeowners all over the world – both for the functionality of the doormat, and for the appeal of a natural product made in a sustainable manner which will elegantly greet the guests of your home.

Copyright 2006 www.OutdoorDecor.com

Nate Burke, OutdoorDecor.com Staff Writer