Coconut Shell Craft - Marcel, Goa
Goa is the state of India that is bound by three sides with land and one side with water in the north by the Maharashtra state, in the east and south by the Karnataka state and in the west by the Arabian Sea. It is one of the place in India that has the domestic, international tourists who visit yearly for its beaches, heritage architecture and places of worship. It is one of the Portuguese territory in India that existed for some years till 1961.
It is said that Goa has about three hundred tanks and about hundred medicinal springs with the soil rich in humus and minerals. It has hot and humid climate for most of the year and hottest in the month of May. Coconut generally known as the coconut palm is one of the fruit that can grow in plenty in this climate. They are generally different from other fruits as they contain quite a large amount of water and when they are immature referred to as tender coconuts. It is highly tolerant of salinity, selects to grow in areas with bountiful sunlight and regular rainfall.
The edible part of the coconut is called flesh and when dried it is referred to as copra. Coconut milk and oil is generally derived from it for cooking, frying, soaps, cosmetics, hair oil and massage oil. It has a religious and cultural significance in most of the societies that uses it.
Coconut fruits have the exocarp, mesocarp and the endocarp where the exocarp is the outermost husk layer that are removed. The mesocarp that has the fibers called the coir and the shell which generally has the three germination pores called the eyes. Husks and shells are used as a source of charcoal that are effective for the removal of impurities. It is said that the cups made with shells is used to neutralize the poisoned drinks.
Marcel and the surrounding places in Goa supports the making of various types of products from the coconut shell as the women from different houses gather in some of the institutes nearby in learning and developing various types of products from the coconut husk and shells.
