The tree with a thousand uses

[arthoz]

Since someone is interested to know and I believe many people had their own coconut tree, I will try to share some of the knowledge that I have and possibly others may also contribute...

The whole branch if you take and stick it in the ground and lay it side by side and knit the leaves together, you make a nice fence.

Remove the twig from the center of the leaves. The twig makes a nice besom(broom) and strangely in Malaysia, if you shake it at cats it scares them. The leaves we fold into a kind of container to cook rice.

The shoots makes a nice dish but not sure how to get them. Usually people cut down the tree first. When it sprouts flowers you could cut the stem and gather its sap which makes delicious brown sugar. I believe there's instructions on the net on how to do it.

As for the fruits there are some misunderstanding. Some people thought that the juice inside the coconut is the coconut milk. This is wrong. Green fruits (in some species young fruits are yellow) have refreshing juice inside them and the insides are like jelly. They are refreshing and good to drink and eat on a hot day. When they are ripe they turn brown and the husk becomes dry and tough. The juice are rather brackish and nobody drinks them. However we grate the insides, add with a bit of water and squeeze out the white thick creamy coconut milk. A good replacement for milk. Also we get oil from them but I don't know the specific of making coconut oil.

The husk--yes the husk. You could either tear them apart to make a grow medium or using a machine and separate the coir. The fibers makes perfect rope and they usually use it as ship mooring. Also you can saw off a third part of the ripe fruit from the top and they make a wonderful pot. Or tear of the husk and clean the shell which could in turn becomes either a container, cup, pot and even a ladle if you add a handle. There's also a lot of other handicraft made from coconut shells. Visit Malaysia and find out yourself.

As for the tree trunk you could make it a a pillar for house or a bench and even a cannon--something which is now considered illegal in Malaysia. If you cut it lenghtwise and scoop out the insides, it'll make a nice growbed. I heard of how people use it as a way to direct waterflow (a sort of aquaduct).

Anyway is all up to your creativity of how to use it. There's a lot of things that you could do with a coconut tree. Many great industries evolve around it and even the Malaysian government are making genetical enhance trees. I planted some recently but sadly most were destroyed by wildboars (another reason for me to start on my crossbow project--firearms are hard to obtain legally in Malaysia). How you use coconut depends on your need--there are even extreme cases where people got all the contruction materials to make a simple house only from coconut tree. Even having just a single tree in your yard would be usefull...

Hope others would share their knowledge and experience with coconut...or perhaps a delicious food recipe using coconut...

[wadadli]

The coconut water is real good for those of us with kidney issues. Has great cleansing properties. The coconut milk is used in cooking, and adds a nice flavor to rice and soups. Grated coconut meat is used in pastries.

In the Caribbean we refer to the younger nut as jelly nut, and the matured nut as coconut. We also make good use of the fruit. Soaps and skin oils are also made from the fruit

[moet poep]

Arthoz, thanks for the reply. I would really like to know what preparations go into making a post for a house from the trunk.

moet poep.

[arthoz]

You just choose the trunks that are straight enough and cut it to the required lenght and watch out for any holes made by woodpecker or squirrels that would compromise the strength. But coconut trees are not as solid as other types of hardwood. This brings to another thing, you could make raft from coconut trunks---which brings to another frightening childhood memory...my father brought me swimming at the seaside. He and his navies friend hung from a coconut trunk raft and swam out to sea. I was just a toddler then and was holding on for my dear life...being traumatized I took me years later to start learning to swim.

For your information there is a survivor of the tsunami in Acheh who held on to a coconut tree and was washed out into the sea. He was later rescued still holding onto the tree trunk.

I don't think you could smooth the surface the coconut trunk because the wood are as fibrous (is it the right word) as the coconut fruit husk. But they are also flexible. Other use are as bridges. You lay a few across a river and nail planks across. There are also designs where you make them into tables and benches. I used to sleep at the seaside on coconut trunk benches.

But if you paint it with the right type of paint or varnish it would show a nice natural surface.

I seriously advice you not to use it for main structural support!!! It might shrunk in dry climate or damaged by frost since it's a tropical tree and as I said before you can't be sure of the strenght like other type of hardwood unless you are experienced in using coconut trunks for construction. Get help from a carpenter and don't endanger yourself. Even if I said that they are strong enough for bridges, the people who made them know what they are doing.

Good luck and be safe...

P.S. Here's a site for further reading: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7731e/w7731e04.htm