From nature to you

An opportunity to live sustainable!

CoirWood is the material for a sustainable future. It is made of coconut husk. By using by-products from coconut plantations, we can truly say that these are one of the world’s first fully sustainable boards. The manufacturing of CoirWood requires ZERO water.

Process

The applications of CoirWood are endless

Flooring

Furniture

Interior

Insulation

About us

Coconut, commonly believed to be a nut is actually a kind of drupe. It grows abundantly in tropical climates and is extremely versatile. The fruit can be eaten, its water is a refreshing hot climate drink, its oil is used for cooking or in cosmetics and considered an excellent skin moisturiser, its outer cover is used to make mattress springs and ropes and now with CoirWood we have started to make boards with it. Usually, the inner meat of the coconut is used for eating for extracting oil leaving the husk as a by-product. This husk can often end up in large waste piles leading to leachates into the surrounding soil or getting burnt. Thus, it is strongly desirable to find applications for recycling them. This is where CoirWood comes in. With CoirWood we don’t have to make any new plantation. We don’t even have to use any extra labour to harvest the husk because it is already been done to harvest coconut. The coconut husk has been there for generations, and now it can provide us with a sustainable material to build and make products for the next generations.

About us

Sourcing

Harvesting coconuts is labour intensive. It first needs to be taken off the tree. This is usually achieved through farmers physically climbing up the trees and cutting off the branches with a hand-held implement. After this, the husk needs to be split from the coconut. This is also achieved through manual labourers who get paid around 5-7 dollars a day.

Through CoirWood, a by-product of coconut harvest that often ends up as waste can also be utilized. We will purchase the husk that would have otherwise ended up as waste from these plantations and upcycle them into high quality, durable, chemical binder-free wooden board substitutes. This will provide a higher income to the plantation workers and owners in addition to providing you with a more sustainable board.

Through our product, we increase the profits of coconut plantations. We want to ensure that a part of the profit goes back to the workers. We will do this in cooperation with the plantation owners. As the company grows, the plantations will benefit and most of all the workers and their family will benefit too.

Mission

CoirWood's mission is to provide high-quality sustainably sourced fiberboards manufactured with zero formaldehyde formulation.

You achieve!

Team

S. Sachithanandha Sundaram

Co-founder

Coming from the region renowned for coconut production in Southern India and family that has been involved in coconut farming for generations now. As a Mechanical Engineer and with a passion for cleantech Entrepreneurship, I started to pursue my masters in Consultancy & Entrepreneurship in the Netherlands. This is where I had the opportunity to explore the process involved in CoirWood and also meet my wonderful team members. Together now we are taking CoirWood to the global market to ensure a sustainable future.

“To enrich the planet and people with economic and environmental benefits through cleantech entrepreneurship"

Team

Mel Valies

Co-founder

During my bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering, I encountered many complex problems that challenged me to dive deep into the world of mechanics, aerodynamics, linear algebra and such. This helped me to build strong analytical skills and solve the engineering problems of all kinds. However, I didn't know much about the world. What was going on? Where can I use my skills to solve real problems? This all led to my current Master in Industrial Ecology where my fascination for the transition to a circular economy started. With CoirWood I want to use my engineering skills and knowledge obtained through my Master, to prove how technologies and circular business cases can positively impact our environments while boosting economies

“To prove how a closed-loop way of living can be integrated in current industry to better preserve mother nature and simultaneously improving our way of living and boosting the economy.”