From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Feb 20: The Karnataka Coir Expo-2013 which was inaugurated on February 16 by Jagadish Shettar, Chief Minister of Karnataka in a function presided over by K.H.Muniyappa, Union Minister of State for MSME, is progressing successfully.

By now, the Expo has already been visited by more than 60,000 people not only from the State of Karnataka but also from the neighbouring States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The mobile defibering machine demonstrated in the Expo is one of the major attractions. This machine addresses the problem of low utilization of coconut husks for coir industry.

Karnataka is utilising only around 20% of the coconut husks available in the State, for coir industry, can be benefited if the mobile defibering machine is widely popularized in the industry. The mobile defibering machine is a simple device which can extract fibre out of 5000 husks minimum per day.

Another attraction of the Expo is the spinning machines demonstrated. On one side, the electronic ratt costing around Rs.4000/- which can be popularized in the household sector for spinning coir yarn without much hustle.

The unit can also be provided with in-built inverter, so that it can be used even at the time power is not available.

The versatile spinning machine which spins coir yarn continuously without any core-thread with the aid of a 2 HP motor developed by the Central Coir Research Institute, Alleppey and demonstrated in the Expo, is the invention of the century in coir sector.

The diversified coir products like coir ornaments, coir jackets, coir umbrella, coir curtain material, coir chapels, coir wood furniture items, coir pith products and coir home gardens, coir garden articles, coir hats, and coir apparels – all attracted the enthusiastic visitors.

The machinery manufacturers who demonstrated their machineries in the Expo and the various stakeholders in the coir industry who exhibited their products, got good number of trade enquiries from within India and abroad which can be converted into business over a period of time.

Organtic chess board made of coir was another piece of attraction at the expo. The chess board made of coir tiles having an overall size of 12 x 12 ft. and pawns of gigantic size adorned with coir yarn, was a centre of attraction for the younger generation visiting the pavilion. Competitions for school children were conducted on the coir chess and prizes were distributed.

The women coir workers from Odisha have been continuously engaged in the manufacture of coir handicrafts out of coir fibre in the stall of Sahigopal Coir Cluster in the Expo. There is a long queue of visitors to have a glimpse of making coir handicrafts in an artistic manner by the women coir workers from Odisha.
 

Cultural Programmes
 
Everyday there were cultural programmes for the benefit of the visiting public. On the first day, there was folk dance and traditional dance by popular artistes of Karnataka. On the second day, for the first time in the history of coir sector in Karnataka, a Coir Fashion Show was organized for the college students from Bangalore.

Students from six colleges in the city participated in the competition and it was altogether a different experience to see boys and girls dressed up with coir materials, vanity bags, hats, coir chapels and doing catwalk on the ramp. Large crowd visited the exhibition applauded the participants of fashion show.
 

Seminars
 
Seminars on various topics such as women empowerment through coir industry; coir geotextiles and its applications; coir pith and its applications; were held for the two days. An investors’ meet and technology meet is also planned on 19th at which it is expected to generate at least 300 expressions of interest for technology transfer. All the seminars were well attended and were useful for the participants to provide necessary inputs for making entrepreneurs of the future.
 

Management Development Programme (MDP)
 
With a view to facilitate the prospective coir entrepreneurs in the State of Karnataka to become exporters, the Coir Board in association with the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, has organized a three-day Management Development Programme at the expo venue. 35 participants drawn from different organizations and also the industry from the State of Karnataka are participating in the three-day programme. The programme was inaugurated by Prof. G. Balachandran, Chairman, Coir Board on 18th February and will conclude on 20th.