Coconut shell have long been a staple of Kerala agriculture, and Maria Kuriakose, the founder of the online store Thenga Coco, is making the most of them by manufacturing sustainable items from their shells.
Her childhood desire had always been to open her own business, but she had no idea what it could be. Maria Kuriakose, a Thrissur, Kerala resident, left her employment at a social venture in Mumbai in 2019.
Maria Quits Her Job To Start Tenga Coco
She moved on to work for a corporate organisation after obtaining her Master of Business Administration in 2017. She left that job after a year because she wanted to work for an organisation that helped the poor. So she joined a social venture that made sustainable sanitary pads with slum people.
But, a visit to a coconut oil plant in Thrissur provided her with much-needed entrepreneurial inspiration.
She saw the immense potential of coconut shells and decided to start crafting beautiful and sustainable things with them during her online store Thenga Coco.
In Malayalam, Kerala’s regional language, the word ‘Thenga’ denotes coconuts. And seeing coconuts as one enters the state is not uncommon. Coconuts are used by industrial units and oil mills, in addition to people who use them for other purposes. However, Maria has noticed that these units frequently discard the shells of coconuts in landfills. Shells are considered ‘trash,’ and they are also burned as fuel.
Soon after, she recognised the potential to make useful things out of shells, which led her to begin with the coconut bowls.
Eco-Friendly Bowls Are Here To Serve You Healthier Food
The wonderful thing about the coconut shell bowls is that they’re not eco-friendly but also long-lasting. It’s no surprise that the bowls are her company’s best-selling item. Other handmade items manufactured by Thenga Coco include candle holders, salt and pepper shakers, coconut shell containers, kitchen sets, planters, soap dishes, cups, forks, and teaspoons, among others.
She began diving deep into the practice of using serveware made of coconut shells after conducting a study and discovering a means to manufacture the products. Sanding is required to make the shells smooth, and buffing is required to make the shells clean. After that, we use coconut oil to polish the surface,” adds the 27-year-old.
Even though Maria, who is currently based in Palakkad, has multiple units in various regions of Kerala, several artisans, largely women, work from their homes for the endeavour. After collecting the shells from oil mills and manufacturing plants, the complete handcrafted process of transforming them into final items begins.
In fact, unlike in cities, Kerala’s rural and regional markets lack the affordability necessary to use such products. Maria claims that the products sell well in South Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru, but that they also have a strong consumer base in Mumbai and Delhi. Cities’ growing culture of staying healthy and choosing sustainable options helps these items sell better, especially after the epidemic hit the country.
Over 24,000 Coconut Products Were Sold In 2021!
This could explain why her store, which started just one year before the outbreak in 2019, experienced a surge during the pandemic.
During the initial lockdown, people were sitting at home looking for good eating habits, which may have piqued their interest in their products.
By 2021, the company had sold over 24,000 coconut shell goods to customers, including some who purchased them in various nations to use or resale.
Do you want to order you tanga bowl? Just order on their website to get yours.
Find them on Instagram : thenga_coco
If you loved reading this story, you can also read Entrepreneur Earns Rs 2 Lakh/Month By Making Eco-Friendly Products; Empowers Local Artisans
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