Villar: Turn coconut wastes into income

MANILA, Philippines — The public should turn coconut wastes into a viable source of income and help in the country’s waste management efforts, Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.

Villar, who chairs the Senate committees on agriculture and environment, said all the parts of the tree can sustain human life and supply man’s basic needs for survival.

“In fact, even the wastes from coconuts, such as its husks, are important in many people’s lives. The coconut tree has long been considered as the ‘Tree of Life’ and for good reason,” she said.

The Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG)’s “coconet” weaving enterprises convert waste coconut husks into coconets, which are used as riprap materials in construction projects to prevent soil erosion. Vista Land buys the coconets for its housing subdivisions.

Villar said the workers extract fiber and coco peat from the waste coconut husks using a decorticating machine, which can extract fiber from up to 8,000 husks daily.

The fibers are then made into eight-meter twines by women workers. Another group of workers weave the twines and can produce a roll measuring one meter by 50 meters every two hours. Each roll costs P2,000.

Villar said the coco peat or dust extracted by the decorticating machine is mixed with household waste to make organic fertilizer, which Villar SIPAG gives for free to farmers and urban gardeners.

“One of my learnings as a social entrepreneur is that we really have to put a income component in our projects for them to be successful or sustainable. Otherwise, people will be hesitant or half-hearted to participate,” she said.