The Province of Guimaras will soon produce coconet or geotextile which will be bought by the Coco Technologies Corporation, a pioneering company in the production of coconut fiber geotextiles. Jose M. Divinagracia, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Guimaras, said the coconet production is an offshoot of the training attended by 68 coconut farmers and farmer- beneficiaries from the three Agrarian Reform Communities in Jordan town, the Philippine Information Agency said in a report.

The capability building workshop on coco-coir twining, weaving and geotextile making and carding was sponsored by the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion, the Province of Guimaras and other government agencies.

The resource person was Justino Arboleda, founder of Coco Technologies Corporation, and an internationally acclaimed inventor who was awarded the Global 100 Eco-Tech Award in the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan for the Philippine entry, " Waste Coco-Coir for Geo-textiles for Sustainable Development" and in the First World Challenge contest sponsored by BBC World television in London for his soil erosion control net or coconet in November 2005.

Divinagracia said coconet, or geotextile, is used in the restoration of eroded slopes, reforestation of sloping terrains, and in the construction of road or pavement in slopes.

He said the project is aimed to help ARCs in areas where there are high concentration of coconut trees and oil spill victims who need an alternative livelihood.

The Guimaras coco farmers are planning to set up a buying station for coco fibers to augment supply of raw materials.*

back to top