By Wendella Davidson

THE coconut industry is a thriving commercial business in the Pomeroon basin with huge coconut estates and businesses where the coconuts are sold and processed.
But the focus of the processing businesses is only on the water and the kernel while the shell is discarded. But there obviously needs to be a much better way in which the husks of the coconut are disposed of.

The only mode of transportation on the Pomeroon River is via speedboat, but traversing this waterway, as it was observed during a recent visit by this publication to Adel’s Rainforest Resort, located upriver from Charity and about six miles from the Atlantic Ocean, can be very risky, particularly at nights, as a result of the numerous coconuts which litter the waterway, especially in the vicinity where most of the estates are located.

At most of the estates, the husks are seen piled at the front of the land and in close proximity to waterways, where, it is obvious that during high tides, some can easily be washed into the river. The floating husks not only create a flood risk but pose a potential hazard for speedboats travelling on the river at nights, as more often than not, they get caught in the propellers of the engine and this can cause the boats to capsize.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a watchdog body for the environment, has been vigilant in ensuring that the country’s waterways are not polluted or encumbered, including the Pomeroon River where businesses involved in the processing of coconut and its byproducts, are cautioned to dispose of their waste in an environmentally-friendly manner.

Earlier this year, the EPA had imposed a $1M fine on “Fat Boy Coconut Ventures” managed by the Alfro Alphonso & Sons Enterprises, one of the large companies with business holdings in the Pomeroon River, following complaints from residents about the daily wanton dumping of coconut husks and shells into the waterway and tributaries. The action was taken after the watchdog body had issued several warnings for the company to desist from such practice.

According to residents with whom the Guyana Chronicle spoke, since the EPA’s action, it is obvious that the widespread dumping of the husks in the river has been somewhat reduced, however, the storing of the husks close to the waterway remains a concern.
One resident, who chatted with the Chronicle but prefers to remain anonymous, pointed out that the haphazard way the discarded coconut husks are thrown away, close to the waterway, is not ideal as some of it can easily find its way into the river.
Meanwhile, Zena Stoll, the proprietress of Adel’s, said that she has leased a portion of the Stoll’s family estate at Enterprise to Pomeroon Trading, an English company involved in the production of spices.

She said the company that is managed by Duncan Turnbull, a Stanford Business School graduate, disclosed that the company has begun experimenting in grinding the husks to be used as mulch for plants.

The husk can also be used for fire or as charcoal and, according to the website, the coconut husk and or coir, the fibrous material found between the hard internal shell and the outer coast of the coconut, when mixed with nitrogen-rich kitchen scraps and lawn clippings, makes a good bedding material for worm compost.

Also, the natural fire extracted from the husk can be made into floor and door mats, brushes, ropes, furniture and mattresses.