Development of a Tender Coconut Cutting Machine

Abstract

Coconut is one of the most useful trees in the world. Tender coconut is valued both for its sweet water, which is a refreshing drink and the delicious gelatinous meat (kernel). But the extraction of water from the tender coconut is a difficult task. But almost at all places, the machete is the tool used in chopping the husk and cut opening the shell. This effort requires considerable training and skill. The risk of physical injury is also too high. Though some attempts were made to devise simple hand tools for cutting the fruit, these too did not result in the production of a tool suitable for easy use by women. To overcome this limitation, a hand operated Tender Coconut Cutting Machine was developed at KCAET Tavanur. The developed tender coconut cutting machine consists of a knife guiding cum cutting unit, holding unit and a stand. In this method the coconut is held tightly by a holder and a knife is inserted via a cylindrical unit. This cylindrical unit is attached with a handle. The cylindrical unit is rotated with the help of the handle. The tender coconut is held firmly with the help of the metallic holder. Thus the tender coconut is held firmly and the cylinder with the cutting tool is rotated. On rotation of the cylinder, the cutting is accomplished. It is found that an unskilled woman labour could operate the machine without any training. The time taken for cutting one tender coconut was less than 12 seconds. It is safe to use and economical. It is found that if a women entrepreneur who purchase this machine for Rs 2500/ can earn about Rs 950 per day easily. Women are not coming forward for starting tender coconut parleys due to the fear of physical injury of their hands while cutting tender coconuts and this problem is effectively solved in this research work.