Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005 |
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Industry & Economy
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Entrepreneurship `Nutty' idea proves a hit Sankar Radhakrishnan
Coconut shell ornaments created by Anikar K.R. of Thrissur. - C. Ratheesh Kumar
Thiruvananthapuram , Feb. 21 FOR many people in the neighbourhood of Venginissery in Kerala's Thrissur district, Mr Anikar K.R. is the "engineer who's crazy about coconut shells." This chemical engineer-turned-entrepreneur runs a small company that designs and manufactures pendants, earrings and buttons made of coconut shells. When he passed out of college a few years ago, Mr Anikar was certain he did not want to work for anyone. "I wanted to do something connected with natural products and also showcase India's traditional skills," he says. For a while, Mr Anikar tried his hand at manufacturing plates made of leaves and designing bamboo products. But there were too many players in this space, he says. He then hit upon the idea of using coconut shells to make ornaments and buttons. The decision to work with coconuts was easy as "coconut is easily identified with Kerala," says Mr Anikar. However, finding technology suited to make intricately crafted coconut shell products proved to be a challenge, he adds. After several months of research and experiment, Mr Anikar finally came up with a method to polish and cut coconut shells without damaging them and make lockets and earrings with intricate designs and patterns. However, Mr Anikar is wary about sharing details about this technique. While there is a lot of demand for buttons made of coconut shells, the interest in coconut shell ornaments is less, says Mr Anikar. If consumer interest is increased, manufacture of such products can become a viable self-employment opportunity for those in Kerala, says Mr Anikar. His products are on display at the ongoing Prithvi 2005 eco meet in Thiruvananthapuram.
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