With nature at a new risk every day, Kerala has taken the astounding initiative of giving their canals and streams a new kind of makeover. 

The makeover will use eco- friendly cloth to drape over their banks. The cloth will stop erosion during the season of monsoon. Kerala the Land of Coconuts, have been technologically innovating with Coconut over many decades. Some of the innovations attempted have been very successful with an aim to sustain it in a profitable way. It has been proved generations ago that the husk of a coconut has long fibers that could be spun and woven into ropes, mats and nets.

The tensile strength of these ropes are simply great. This simple idea of its tensile strength has been taken into account for processing them into GeoTextiles that could be used for covering eroding landscapes that could help further inundation. These Coir Geotextiles are also called Coir Bhoovastra. These were actually used in 2019 to cover slopes, streams bunds, canals and river banks and they are been proved great for slope stabilization. These kinds of work will also provide livelihoods to people.

Coir Bhoovastra is a natural earth cover made from coconut fiber. It can be spread over the walls of streams, bunds, farms and ponds during rains. The bhoovastra retains the earth’s moisture and protects the roots of the plants.

Another interesting thing about this concept is that it also disintegrates in 5-6 years enriching the soil and promoting vegetation growth. Since, it has so many benefits, Kerala has spread the bhoovastra on scores of its canals and streams, which has provided a fillip to the slackening coir industry and securing the lives of more than 2 lakh families who depend on coir making a traditional job in the state.

It looks like a golden river-bank, but it is so much more than that.

The story has taken inspiration from the video posted by The News Minute. Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc_1k1Mvo4I