Coconut fibre turns money earner
The fibre from coconut husk processed in Bagerhat for making floor mat, mattress and kayta (a kind of rope) has become popular at home and abroad.
The fibre and the mattress are being exported to China, Korea, Japan and India, said Krishna Pada Mallick, deputy manager of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation in Bagerhat.
Sadar and Morrelganj upazilas have three coconut fiber mills, which have created employment opportunities for many villagers.
Ranojit Das, a technician at a coconut fibre mill at Kanthi Para village in Morrelganj upazila, said “At first we collect husk from coconut sellers of different areas and then put those into the machine and finally get the fibre and powder as well after processing.”
Farmers use the powder as organic fertiliser on their crop field, he said.
Another worker at the mill Shibu Saha said they can produce 2.5 maunds of fibre from 1000 coconuts. The price of fibre is Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,400 per maund.
He gets Tk 9,000 wage a month from the mill owner while his female colleague gets Tk 6000 per month, said Shibu.
Tarapada Saha, owner of the mill, said traders from Gopalganj and Pirojpur come here to buy fibre. Goods produced from the fibre are also being exported to China and India.
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