Women make rope from coconut fibre in Kerala

From the archive record

Women guide the fibres through their hands from the baskets on their waists. These women are making rope from coconut fibre at the coir workshop. Coir rope-making is a common cottage industry in India. The Coconut fibre is attached to hooks on a wheel that is turned by hand. This twists the coir while more is added. It forms a strong rope that doesn’t unwind or break. Among the natural fibre, coir has some unique characteristic particularly its rigidity, durability and friction. The number of strands required for a strand of rope is determined by the diameter of the strand and the fineness of the yarn used. The diameter of the strand is in turn determined by the diameter of the rope and number of the strands constituting the rope. Therefore, by varying the number of yarns in the strand and