COIR AND COCONUT CRAFTS OF KOYILANDI

Koyilandy (or Quilandy/Quilandi) is a city and a municipality in Kozhikode district in North Malabar region of the Indian state of Kerala Koyilandy Hookahs, traditional smoking pipes, of Calicut made in Koyilandy were famous across North India, Gulf and Pakistan. Prepared by Moosari, a coppersmith community, these Hookahs were once considered a pride of Koyilandy. However it is not so any more. But in Gulf countries, Koyilandy Hookahs are still very popular as "Malabar Hookah."
Besides being ornately designed with attractive motifs, the Koyilandy Hookahs have coconut shell as the water holder

COCONUT BASED CRAFTS Every part of the ubiquitous coconut tree is effectively utilized in this region - the flesh of the coconut is eaten, its fibre spun into coir or burnt for fuel, the shell with its natural concave shape converted into bowls and spoons, the stem into tables, chairs, banisters, vases and insense stick holders, and the husk into figurines of monkeys and Buddha heads. The recent emphsis on eco friendly consumer goods has given an additional impetus to this traditional cottage industry. One of the cheif beneficiaries of this phenomeneon has been the craft of working with coconut shells; the traditional repertoire of coconut shell bowls and ladles has not extended to include a variety of lidded containers , trays, boxes, bowls, cups and cutlery. The process involved is relatively simple - the outer surface of the hard coconut shell is smoothened with a saw like tool while the inner is smoothened with the aid of small chisels; the resultant surface is sandpapered. A circular base and a handle are seperately made, either in shell or in cast brass, and attached to the cup by fixing screws. Koyilandi in the district of Kozhikode is renowned for its brass-broidered coconut shell hookah; these were presumably made for the Arabs who had commercial trade links with Malabar Coast during the rule of the Zamorins of Kozhikode district. The trend continues till today, with most of the coconut shell products being produced

for export.

COIR BASED CRAFTS

The process of creating coir mats begins with the retting of the coconut husk in the lagoons for between six to ten months; the husk thus softened is beaten with wooden mallets and later spun into coir yarn on traditional spinning wheels known as ratt. The coir is then woven into floor coverings either by hand or by loom; patterns are achieved by inlaying coir dyed in eco friendly pigments or through post weaving embellishment techniques such as hand bevelling and stencilling. The product range includes compressed fibre mats, mottled mats made of yarn and handwoven coir rope mats as well as rugs and crush The edges of the coir mats are hand knotted; the craftsmen wears a self made rubber glove for protection and support while pulling and pushing the thick needle through the tightly woven coir mat. 1. Patterns are emphasized through hand bevelling whereing the craftsmen manually trims the pile to define raised forms. 2. proof pile carpets. In addition to being and eco friendly material, coir is also exceedingly durable mothproof and resistant to fungi, flame-retardent, anti static - and with regular maintenance, can be easily kept clean. Kerala produces a variety of graded coir yarns which are used for different purposes such as the stuffing of couches and pillows, making cordage including large sized cables, saddles, brushes, fishing nets, upholstery, hats and finally, the manufacture of rubberized coil, a blend of coir and latex, which is used to pad mattress and cushioning. 3. A medium sized mat, woven using bleached and natural coir. 4. A coir mat made by the knotted pile technique. During the finishing stage, the surface of the mats are sheared and then manually cut using clipping scissors.