Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Glob World: A Case Study of the Coconut (Coir) Fiber Industry in Kerala, India (Synthesis Lectures on Engineers, Technology and Society)

Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World A Case Study of the Coconut (Coir) Fiber Industry in Kerala, India

Copyright © 2008 by Morgan & Claypool All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World: A Case Study of the Coconut (Coir) Fiber Industry in Kerala, India Shobha K. Bhatia and Jennifer L. Smith www.morganclaypool.com ISBN: 9781598296235 paperback ISBN: 9781598296242 ebook DOI: 10.2200/S00112ED1V01Y200804ETS006 A Publication in the Morgan & Claypool Publishers series SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY #6 Lecture #6 Series Editor: Caroline Baillie, Queens University Series ISSN ISSN 1933-3633

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ISSN 1933-3461

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Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World A Case Study of the Coconut (Coir) Fiber Industry in Kerala, India Shobha K. Bhatia Syracuse University Syracuse, New York

Jennifer L. Smith State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, New York

SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY #6

iv

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, globalization has had a profound impact on how we view the world and its sustainability. One group of professionals that lies at the heart of sustainability is the engineers. Engineers are trained problem solvers, required to implement technical solutions and are at the forefront of the development of new technologies. Although engineers play a critical role in sustainability, traditional engineering programs typically only focus on the technocentric and ecocentric dimensions of sustainability, providing little training on the sociocentric dimension. With more and more interest in sustainability, it is becoming increasingly important to also provide engineers with an awareness of sociocentric issues and the necessary skills to address them. The aim of this book is to provide engineering educators with a real-life case study that can be brought into existing courses to help bridge the gap between engineering and the global world. The case study focuses on how our engineering study of different natural plant fibers for soil erosion control led us to small villages in Kerala, India, where marginalized women workers often stand waste deep in water several hours a day, clean and beat coconuts by hand, and separate and spin coconut (coir) fibers into yarn by hand, for very low wages. The case study provides insight into the three dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric) and how they come together in a typical engineering problem.

Keywords Engineering, globalization, sustainability, soil erosion, natural fibers, coir



Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge support received from the Department of Education (Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship in South Asia), the Syracuse University Graduate School (University Fellowship Award), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Women’s International Science Collaboration (WISC) Program. The authors thank Dr. K. Balan, former managing director of the Coir Geotextile Division of the Kerala State Coir Corporation in Kerala, and Dr. G. Venkatappa Rao, professor of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, for their help with the site visits. The authors also express their sincere thanks to the participants from the coir community in Kerala.

vii

Contents 1.

Reinforcing the Classroom...................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Need for Reinforcement....................................................................................... 2 1.3 Bridging the Gap.................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Summary.............................................................................................................. 6

2. Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications: Technocentric and Ecocentric Dimensions of Sustainability................................................................................7 2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Natural Plant Fibers............................................................................................. 7 2.3 Properties.............................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Engineering Applications................................................................................... 12 2.4.1 Automotive Materials............................................................................. 13 2.4.2 Building Materials.................................................................................. 13 2.4.3 Geo-Environmental Materials............................................................... 14 2.5 Summary............................................................................................................ 14 3. The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India: Sociocentric Dimension of Sustainability..................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 17 3.2 Global and Local History................................................................................... 18 3.3 Coir Processing................................................................................................... 19 3.4 Technology......................................................................................................... 23 3.5 Culture............................................................................................................... 24 3.6 Stakeholders and the Commodity Chain........................................................... 28 4.

Case Study......................................................................................................... 31 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 31 4.2 Methodology...................................................................................................... 31 4.2.1 Interviews............................................................................................... 31 4.2.2 Data Collected........................................................................................ 33

viii  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

4.3 Results................................................................................................................ 35 4.3.1 Global Competition............................................................................... 36 4.3.2 Technology............................................................................................. 37 4.3.3 Middlemen............................................................................................. 38 4.3.4 Summary................................................................................................ 38 4.4 Analysis and Discussion..................................................................................... 38 4.4.1 Global Coir Market................................................................................ 39 4.4.2 Market Failures....................................................................................... 40 4.5 Recommendations for What Can Be Done....................................................... 44 4.6 Ideas for Implementation................................................................................... 47 4.7 Summary............................................................................................................ 48 5.

Conclusion........................................................................................................ 51

Bibliography............................................................................................................... 53 Author Biography....................................................................................................... 57



chapter 1

Reinforcing the Classroom 1.1

INTRODUCTION

Over the last two decades, globalization has swept across the world at an unprecedented rate, bringing with it rapid and significant changes in ever-expanding global markets, new technologies, and speed and access to information. Nowhere have the effects of globalization, which has been defined as “the growing integration of economies and societies around the world” (World Bank Group 2001), been more pronounced than in our colleges and universities. As students enter college and university programs, they are searching for an education that will not only prepare them to work in a global world, but for one that is socially and environmentally meaningful, responsible, and sustainable. They are demanding “green campuses,” with some students voting for increases in their student activity fees to help pay for green initiatives (Underwood 2007). Colleges and universities are responding. Nearly 500 college and university presidents and chancellors across the United States have joined the American College & University (ACU) Presidents Climate Commitment, agreeing to develop long-range plans for reducing greenhouse gases on campuses and accelerating research and education efforts to protect and

  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

preserve the environment (ACU 2008). More and more students are also looking for interdisciplinary programs that combine both science and policy (Nordenstam and Smardon 2000). The interest of engineering students in sustainability and the global world is also evident through the more than 170 established and/or developing student chapters in the Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) organization. EWB-USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing partnerships with developing communities worldwide to improve their quality of life (EWB-USA 2008). The goals of the organization are two-pronged: implementing sustainable engineering projects, while at the same time training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students (EWB-USA 2008). The interest in this outreach organization has been evident in central New York, with student chapters at Syracuse University, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), and Onondaga Community College (OCC). Recently, a group of students from Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF teamed up to work on providing potable water for the residents of a small village in Buena Vista, Honduras (SUNY-ESF 2008). The group has also been involved with building lowimpact, ecologically sound hiking trails in a national park in Honduras (SUNY-ESF 2005). Emerging Green Builders (EGB) is another example of students getting involved. The organization has seen tremendous interest nationwide. EGB is an organization of students and young professionals that are dedicated to becoming and recruiting the future leaders of the green building movement (USGBC 2008). The green building movement focuses on the efficiency of buildings and the reduction of building impacts on society and the environment.

1.2

NEED FOR REINFORCEMENT

Organizations, such as the EWB-USA and EGB, provide students with a direct link to the larger world. However, they are only one part of the educational process. Reinforcement of these values is needed in the academic setting to help students become more socially aware and to provide students with the cultural knowledge and tools necessary to compete in a global world. However, this is often difficult in traditional engineering programs that focus on scientific theories, concepts, and methods, rightfully training engineers to be good technical problem solvers, but poor in social skills. With more and more interest in sustainable development, it is becoming increasingly important to bridge the gap between traditional engineering and the global world and provide engineers with an awareness of environmental and social justice issues and the skills necessary to address them. These skills are becoming particularly important with the adoption of a variety of different building rating systems, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System, Green Globes™, and Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) that are being used to evaluate the sustainability of built structures (Smith et al. 2006). Many of these rating

Reinforcing the Classroom  

systems consider the entire life cycle of a material or product, from the extraction and processing of a raw material through its final disposal.

1.3

BRIDGING THE GAP

Many institutions are moving away from traditional teaching in an attempt to bridge the gap. For example, the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University is modifying their engineering curriculum to provide students with the ability to use their technical skills in a multilingual, multicultural, and multinational environment (Khosla 2007). The School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University is supporting and encouraging the development of new courses, integrating consideration of the wider societal context in existing courses, and providing more opportunities for students to develop cross-disciplinary skills in research, policy, and leadership (Tilghman 2004). Although some engineering programs are moving in that direction, it is a difficult road for many institutions in terms of time, resources, and commitment. Many programs are limited in what they can do by the large number of courses they are required to offer to meet accreditation requirements, limited numbers of faculty, and limited financial resources to create new courses. Several researchers have acknowledged and are addressing this issue. In the first book of this series, Engineers Within a Local and Global Society, Caroline Baillie (2006) argues that engineers are not always trained to deal with issues that are beyond the scope of traditional engineering projects. When tasked with a project, engineers generally set out to make sure that the technical elements of a project are addressed. For example, we make sure that the design is technically correct, meets building codes and site constraints, and meets the expectations of the owner. We are trained to ask these questions. Seldom do we consider the impact a project will have on a surrounding community or who will benefit from our work. Baillie suggests that engineering education needs to be broadened to include more about the social, economic, and political aspects of engineering. To accomplish this, she presents a historical perspective on how engineering has impacted social, economic, and political issues. For example, she discusses how the newly engineered railway system in India in the 1870s made it possible for Britain to exploit grain resources in India, leading to sharp price increases for grain, grain shortages, and famine in India. She also discusses how chemicals engineered to control weeds and pests during the Green Revolution of the 1960s paved the way for the development of new, mechanized equipment that made farming easier, faster, and more productive, effectively shutting down small farmers that could not compete, leading to massive unemployment. Through these case studies, Baillie challenges us to reflect on our purpose as engineers and to examine how the choices we make as engineers impact the global world.

  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

Baillie expands on this by presenting a case study on the development of a waste plastic/agave fiber ceiling panel facility in Lesotho, Africa that highlights many of the questions that should be asked during a project. For example, “What are the needs of the people?,” “Who will benefit from the project?,” and “Who will get the jobs?” Baillie and her team posed these questions and more to cooperatives and villagers to gain insight into the best way to implement the project to get the results that would benefit the people of the small village. This is a side to engineering that is at least as, if not more, challenging and demanding than the technical components of a design. Participatory techniques are not commonly taught to engineering students. Vallero and Vesilind (2007) made similar observations and recommendations. In their book, they focus on the need to teach students about ethics and social justice and provide them with social skills to address such issues. They believe that educators should take every opportunity to demonstrate to students the connection between engineering and social science. They also encourage us to think of engineering as an “applied social science,” one that “redefines engineering from a profession that builds things to a profession that helps people.” To accomplish this, they provide many examples where engineering projects started out with good intentions, but led to tragic environmental and social consequences. For example, they discuss a small cancer clinic that was opened in Goiana, Brazil in the 1980s. When the clinic closed 5 years later, a radiation therapy machine and canisters containing radioactive material were left behind. In 1987, local residents opened one of the containers and found a luminous blue powder—cesium 137. The residents were very curious and even allowed children to paint their bodies with the sparkly powder. More than 200 people were poisoned, and four people died from the exposure. At the time, no one worried about the storage of the hazardous materials or the potential for exposure beyond the life of the facility. Vallero and Vesilind also provide examples where engineers have been faced with difficult ethical questions. A case in point is the tragedy of the Turkish Airlines DC-10 that crashed in 1974. Two years earlier, the chief engineer, Dan Applegate, warned his supervisors that the rear cargo door was unsafe. However, because of politics, Applegate’s warning was ignored, and he was told not to pursue it, of which he did not. The tragedy could have been prevented had Applegate used other methods to get his voice heard, such as whistle-blowing. A similar tragedy occurred years later with the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster. The Royal Academy of Engineering (2005) considers the topic from the perspective of practicing engineers. Their overall goal, similar to Baillie (2006) and Vallero and Vesilind (2007), is to provide engineering educators with teaching materials for use in undergraduate courses to enhance both teacher and student knowledge of the multidisciplinary aspects of sustainability and to provide students with skills to use in the engineering profession.

Reinforcing the Classroom  

In their report, they emphasize the importance of sociocentric concerns (human capital and social expectations), technocentric (engineering skills that must be applied within an economic system), and ecocentric (natural resources and ecological capacity) concerns on the ability to achieve sustainability (Figure 1.1a). They continue on to state that sustainability can only be achieved when the three dimensions converge (Figure 1.1b). They go on to provide examples that focus on incorporating the various dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric concerns) into engineering design. For example, they discuss how a natural river in lieu of a traditional concrete channel was designed and constructed to provide flood control in England. The natural river concept was the result of the collaboration between the public, regulatory agencies, planners, designers, and engineers. Based on a comparison of the different case studies presented, The Royal of Academy of Engineering (2005) arrive at 12 guiding principles of engineering for sustainable development. These include (1) looking beyond your own locality and immediate future, (2) being innovative and creative, (3) seeking a balanced solution, (4) seeing engagement from all stakeholders, (5) making sure you know the wants and needs, (6) planning and managing effectively, (7) giving sustainability the benefit of the doubt, (8) making polluters pay, (9) adopting a holistic cradle-to-grave approach, (10) doing things right, having decided the right thing to do, (11) being aware of cost reductions that masquerade as value engineering, and (12) practicing what you preach. The recommendations



   (a)    (b) FIGURE 1.1: (a) The dimensions of sustainability and (b) the convergence of the three dimensions to achieve sustainability (after The Royal Academy of Engineering 2005).

  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

are a blend of the three dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric concerns).

1.4

SUMMARY

The aim of this book is in the same vein as Baillie (2006), Vallero and Vesilind (2007), and The Royal Academy of Engineering (2005), to provide engineering educators with a real-life case study that can be brought into existing courses to help bridge the gap between engineering and the global world. The case study focuses on how our engineering study of different natural plant fibers for soil erosion control led us to small villages in Kerala, India, where marginalized women workers often stand waste deep in water several hours a day, clean and beat coconuts by hand, and separate and spin coconut (coir) fibers into yarn by hand, for very low wages. The case study provides insight into the three dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric) and how they come together in a typical engineering problem. The following provides a brief summary of the chapters: Chapter 2 presents the technocentric and ecocentric dimensions of our study, focusing on natural plant fibers, their unique properties, and their engineering applications. Chapter 3 presents the sociocentric dimensions of one particular natural fiber (coir) that is used in engineering applications (i.e. soil erosion), focusing on the coir fiber industry in Kerala, India, an industry that has remained virtually unchanged for women workers despite the rapid spread of globalization in India and around the world. Chapter 4 presents the case study, which merges the three dimensions of sustainability. The case study includes a discussion of the methods used, results, and recommendations for what can be done to improve the status of women coir workers in Kerala, India. The case study highlights the complexity of the global coir industry and our place in the global chain. Chapter 5 presents our conclusion, which focuses on the need for providing engineers with an awareness of environmental and social justice issues, an awareness of how they fit into the global chain, and the skills needed to address the challenges. • • • •



chapter 2

Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications: Technocentric and Ecocentric Dimensions of Sustainability 2.1

INTRODUCTION

Engineers have long been interested in the use of natural plant fibers for engineering applications, from ancient engineers, who used papyrus to retain soil, to modern engineers who use cotton fiber in foam insulation. Today, interest in natural plant fibers has soared with global demand for more efficient, less expensive, lightweight, renewable “green” products. This global demand has also united the developed and developing world, with a large percentage of the world’s natural plant fibers being grown in developing countries (see Table 2.1). This chapter provides background information on some natural plant fibers, their properties, and their engineering applications.

2.2

NATURAL PLANT FIBERS

Natural fibers used in engineering applications typically come from plants because of their enhanced strength, elongation, and durability in comparison to animal and mineral fibers (Rankilor 2000). They are typically categorized based on the part of the plant they come from. For example, bast/stem or “soft” fibers reinforce the stems of dicotyledonous plants (Rankilor 2000). Dicotyledonous plants are flowering plants that typically have tap root systems and leaves with net venation (arrangement of the veins). Bast/stem fibers generally have higher tensile strengths than other vegetable fibers. Leaf or “hard” fibers reinforce the leaves of monocotyledonous plants (Rankilor 2000). Monocotyledonous plants are flowering plants that typically have root systems that do not contain a main root and have leaves with parallel venation. Seed/fruit fibers protect the seeds and fruits of plants (Rankilor 2000). Stalk fibers include straws and grasses. Figure 2.1 presents a classification of different types of natural fibers and where they originate in the plant. Figure 2.2 presents photographs of the sources of some natural plant fibers.

  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

TABLE 2.1:  Where natural fibers are produced (FAOSTAT 2008) classification

Fiber

Major producers

Bast/stem

Flax

52% China, 14% Belgium, and 10% France

Hemp

39% China, 23% Spain, and 20% North Korea

Jute

66% India and 28% Bangladesh

Kenaf

60% India, 8% Russian Federation, and 7% China

Abaca

68% Philippines and 30% Ecuador

Sisal

64% Brazil, 8% Kenya, 7% Tanzania, and 5% China

Coir

47% India, 25% Vietnam, and 14% Sri Lanka

Cotton

27% China, 18% United States, 11% India, and 10% Pakistan

Straw

Worldwide

Bamboo

97% China

Sugar cane

31% Brazil, 18% India, and 7% China

Deciduous Wood

Worldwide

Leaf

Seed/fruit

Stalk/grass

Wood

2.3

PROPERTIES

Plant fibers are long, tube-like structures made up of cells. Their basic structure consists of a central void or “lumen” surrounded by a cell wall. Figure 2.3 presents cross-sectional photomicrographs of four different natural plant fibers (coconut, wood, jute, and straw). The photomicrographs highlight the uniqueness of different plant fibers. As shown on Figure 2.3, the fibers all have pore spaces that allow for the transport of water through the fiber. These features play important roles in the ultimate strength and longevity of natural plant fibers. Cell walls consist mainly of cellulose and hemicellulose, which are sugar-based polymers, and lignin (Rowell et al. 2000, Reddy and Yang 2005; see Table 2.2). Lignin is resistant to attack from microorganisms and anaerobic processes, unlike celluloses and hemicelluloses, allowing it to

Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications   

FIGURE 2.1: Classification of some natural plant fibers. slowly degrade in aerobic conditions. Lignin, combined with hemicellulose, is “nature’s cement” in strengthening lignocellulosic-based fibers, while maintaining their flexibility (Biagiotti et al. 2004). Fibers also contain varying amounts of extractives, such as pectins, fats, and waxes. As shown in Table 2.2, the physical and chemical composition of a plant fiber can vary over a wide range. This is because of the different sources (species, geographic location, climate, and part of the plant) and ages of fibers available and methods used for their measurement (Rowell et al. 2000). Chemical composition can also vary within a plant’s structure (Panshin and De Zeeuw 1980). Fiber widths can also vary along the length of a fiber. For example, Pritchard et al. (2000) reports that coconut fibers tend to be thicker in the middle of the fiber and taper at the ends. The variations in chemical and physical composition also lead to variations in mechanical properties of the fibers (see Table 2.3). Although variations in strength can be found between fibers, natural plant fibers provide engineers with a viable resource of lightweight materials that can add value, lower cost, and improve sustainability of engineering projects. One of the most notable features of natural fibers is their ability to absorb water and degrade, which is particularly beneficial in short-term applications, such as in erosion control and filtration applications. Natural plant fibers absorb moisture when they are exposed to humid atmospheric conditions or are immersed in water. They swell and contract because their cell walls contain hydroxyl and other oxygen-containing groups that attract moisture through hydrogen bonding (Rowell 2001). Although this is mainly because of the presence of hemicellulose, cellulose also contains

10  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

FIGURE 2.2: Photographs of the sources of some natural plant fibers (from http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/).

numerous hydrophilic hydroxyl groups (Rankilor 2000). When water comes in contact with plant fibers, the cell walls swell until they are saturated with water, reaching the fiber saturation point (FSP). Once this occurs, any remaining water will exist as free water within the void structure and will not contribute to further swelling (Rowell 2001). This is a reversible process, where the fiber will begin to shrink once it loses water below its FSP (Rowell 2001). The swelling of fibers can lead to microcracking and a reduction in mechanical properties (Rankilor 2000), particularly when exposed to frequent wetting and drying because of differential swelling that can result when portions of the fiber are at different moisture contents (Rowell 2001). Natural plant fibers can also be chemically modified to enhance their properties (i.e., increase dimensional stability, strength, and biological resistance).For example, acetylation can be used to reduce the moisture absorption capacity of fiberboards made of kenaf or jute fiber (Rowell and Stout 1998).

Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications   11

FIGURE 2.3: Typical cross-section photomicrographs of four different natural plant fibers (magnified 500´); photographs from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.

12  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World a

TABLE 2.2: Chemical and physical properties of some natural plant fibers Classification Fiber

Bast/stem

Leaf

Seed/fruit

Stalk/grass

Wood

Percent cellulose

Percent Percent Fiber hemi­ lignin length cellulose (mm)

Fiber width (mm)

Flax

29–81

14–18.6

2–23

4–77

0.005–0.038

Hemp

57–78

17.9–22

3.7–13

5–55

0.01–0.05

Jute

45–72

12–24

5–26

0.8–6

0.010–0.025

Kenaf

31–57

21

15–19

2–6

0.014–0.033

Abaca

56–64

19.6–21

7–12

2–12

0.016–0.032

Sisal

43–88

10–13

4–12

0.8–8

0.008–0.041

Coir

35–45

0.3–2.5

45–46

0.3–1.0

0.100–0.450

Cotton

80–99

2–8.7

0.5–66

10–60

0.012–0.038

Wheat straw

29–51

25.0–32

16–21

0.4–3.2

0.005–0.030

Bamboo

26–43

20–30

21–31

1.5–4.4

0.007–0.027

Sugar cane

32–48

30

19–24

0.8–2.8

0.034

Deciduous Wood

38–50

23–33

23–34

1-1.8

0.010–0.045

a

Adopted from Rowell (1992, 1995), Bledzki et al. (1996), Smeder and Liljedahl (1996), The Clean Washington Center and Domtar Inc. (1997), Han (1998), Olesen and Plackett 1999, Pritchard et al. (2000), Rowell et al. (2000), C-DOCT (2002), and Biagiotti et al. (2004).

2.4

ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

Natural plant fibers have been extensively used for centuries in a variety of different applications. Natural fibers such as hemp, kenaf, abaca, sisal, coir, and straw have been widely used as rope, twine, and cordage. Natural fibers have also been extensively used for paper, clothing, and carpets and are finding their way into everything from tea bags and animal bedding to packing material. Natural plant fibers are also extensively used in engineering applications. They provide engineers with a renewable resource of lightweight materials that can add value, lower cost, and improve the sustainability of engineering materials. They also provide engineers with tremendous opportunities

Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications   13 a

TABLE 2.3:  Mechanical properties of some natural plant fibers Classification

Fiber

Tensile strength (MPa)

Bast/stem

Flax

343–100

27–100

1.6–3.2

Hemp

580–110

3–90

1.3–4.7

Jute

187–73

3–55

1.4–3.1

Kenaf

295–30

22–53

3.7–6.9

Abaca

980–000

72

2.5–12

Sisal

468–55

9.0–28.0

1.9–4.5

Coir

106–70

3.0–6.0

15.0–47.0

Cotton

287–97

5.5–12.6

2.0–10.0

Straw

NA

NA

NA

Bamboo

NA

NA

NA

Sugar cane

20–90

2.7–17.0

0.9

Deciduous wood

7,500

NA

NA

Leaf

Seed/fruit

Stalk/grass

Wood

Young’s modulus (GPa)

Elongation at break (%)

a

Adopted from Rowell (1995), Bledzki et al. (1996), Smeder and Liljedahl (1996), Han (1998), Pritchard et al. (2000), Rowell et al. (2000), C-DOCT (2002), and Biagiotti et al. (2004). b NA = not available.

to develop a variety of new and different products that offer important advantages. The following sections summarize some of the uses of natural fibers in engineering applications.

2.4.1 Automotive Materials The automotive industry has opened up a whole new market for the use of natural fibers in nonstructural composite applications in cars, trains, trucks, and airplanes. Nonstructural applications are those where the product will not be required to carry a load. Natural fibers, such as kenaf, hemp, flax, jute, coir, and sisal, have been used in door panels, seat backs, and dashboards.

2.4.2 Building Materials Natural plant fibers are finding tremendous application in both structural and nonstructural building applications, particularly in residential construction. Hemp and flax fibers are being evaluated for

14  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

use in composite load-bearing beams and structural panels (Burgueño et al. 2004). Straw bales are being used for foundation walls. Natural fibers are also being used in nonstructural building applications. Wood fibers have been extensively used in producing particleboard, fiberboard, and flooring. Recent advances have also been made in the use of hardwood, softwood, rice hull, kenaf, and coir fibers in foamed composite decking, siding, and window blinds. Natural fibers, such as kenaf and coir, are also found in insulation materials.

2.4.3 Geo-Environmental Materials Natural plant fibers have also been used in a variety of different geo-environmental applications to improve or protect soil and water. Natural plant fibers can be used as filters to remove particulates from drinking water, storm water, air, and wastes. Natural plant fibers can also be used as sorbents. For example, kenaf or jute fibers have been used to sorb oil out of seawater (Rowell 1997) and filter heavy metals from storm water (Han 1999). Natural plant fibers have been used in geotextiles. They are made out of both natural, typically coconut or jute, and synthetic fibers and can be either woven or nonwoven. Geotextiles are used in a variety of separation, reinforcement, filtration, and drainage applications, such as around conventional pipe underdrains, behind retaining walls, in earth dams, in landfills, and as wick drains. They are also used to reinforce soft subgrades and retaining walls. Natural plant fibers, such as coconut, jute, straw, and wood, are also commonly used in rolled erosion control products (RECPs). RECPs are temporary degradable (natural fiber) or long-term nondegradable (synthetic fiber) materials manufactured or fabricated into rolls designed to reduce soil erosion and assist in the growth, establishment, and protection of vegetation (ECTC 2001). Work has also begun on classifying new fibers, such as kenaf and sugar cane for RECPs (Sutherland 1998). RECPs are used in a variety of applications, ranging from the protection of slopes and channels (see Figure 2.4), revegetation of burned slopes, and restoration of quarries. We recently completed an extensive laboratory and field study of different natural fiber RECPs (coir, jute, straw, wood) at Syracuse University to evaluate their use in minimizing soil erosion. The study consisted of basic fiber testing (moisture sorption, lignin content, water uptake), index testing (mass per unit area, thickness, light penetration, water absorption), bench-scale testing (rainsplash erosion, vegetation enhancement), and field performance from two different field sites (Bhatia et al. 2002; Smith et al. 2003, 2005).

2.5

SUMMARY

Natural plant fibers provide engineers with tremendous opportunities to develop more efficient, less expensive, lightweight, and renewable green products. They are a source of fiber with unique

Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications   15

FIGURE 2.4: (a) A jute fiber RECP used on a slope and (b) a coconut fiber RECP used in a drainage channel.

properties in terms of strength, elongation, durability, and ability to absorb moisture. They can also be modified to capitalize on their strengths. Although they face some technical challenges because of their non-uniformity in terms of both chemical and physical fiber composition, there is little doubt that engineers will continue to be called upon to use their skills to develop new green and economical products based on natural plant fibers. Because of this, engineers will be increasingly “connected” to the developing world, where the majority of the world’s natural plant fibers are produced. The following chapter aims to help engineers become more aware of the complex “sociocentric” dimension of natural plant fiber use by expanding on our engineering study of the use of natural plant fiber RECPs for minimizing soil erosion. The case study focuses on one particular natural plant fiber (coir) and its production in Kerala, India. • • • •

17

chapter 3

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India: Sociocentric Dimension of Sustainability 3.1

INTRODUCTION

Coir is the fibrous material (Figure 3.1) that is extracted from the husk of coconuts, which grow extensively in tropical areas of the world, such as in the Philippines, Indonesia, and India. Once extracted from the coconut, coir fiber can either be used directly in products, such as in erosion control blankets, or spun into yarn that can later be weaved into products, such as carpets. Coir fiber is also considered a waste material in many countries, such as in India, and is often used for fuel in rural areas (see Figure 3.2). India has been the world’s leader in the production of raw coir and coir yarn for the past 25 years, followed by Vietnam and Sri Lanka (FAOSTAT 2008). Coir fiber is imported by more than 20 countries around the world, including Germany, the United States, and China. Countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, also import coir yarn from producers, such as India and Sri Lanka, for the manufacture of value-added products, such as mats, geotextiles, and carpets. India has historically been the largest exporter of coir products in the world, with demand nearly tripling since the early 1990s. India’s coir products (mats, mattings, geotextiles, carpets, rope, etc.) reach more than 43 different countries. In India, coir fiber, yarn, and value-added products are produced primarily in the state of Kerala, which is located on the southwestern coast of India. Kerala is an ideal location for a coir industry because of its abundance of natural resources including coconuts and backwaters and lowincome workers. In fact, more than 40% of rural women in Kerala (Government of Kerala 2003) are employed in the extracting of coir fiber from coconut husks, spinning of fiber into yarn, and twisting or braiding yarn into ropes, relatively low-paying, arduous, time-consuming jobs.

The Philippines, Indonesia, and India together make up nearly 75% of the world’s production of coconuts (FAOSTAT 2008).  Backwaters are networks of interconnected canals, streams, lagoons, and lakes that allow for the easy transportation and production of coir fiber. 

18  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

FIGURE 3.1: Coir fiber.

3.2

GLOBAL AND LOCAL HISTORY

Coir has an extensive global and local history in Kerala, with coir being a major industry for more than five centuries (Rammohan and Sundaresan 2003). The use of coir dates back to Arabic writings

FIGURE 3.2: Coconut shells and fiber piled up alongside a road in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  19

of the 11th and 12th centuries and to Marco Polo’s visits to India in the 13th century, where Arab sailors were observed sewing the planks of their ships with coir yarn (C-DOCT 2002). By the 16th century, Arab and Portuguese merchants were exporting coir fiber to Europe, where coir later gained commercial prominence for the manufacture of mats and carpets by the middle of the 19th century (C-DOCT 2002). In an anthropological account of life in a coir village, Aiyappan (1965) paints a picture of typical village life in Kerala in the mid-1900s, “On the banks are dozens of men and women engaged in the various stages of the manufacture of coir-ropes, such as soaking the coconut husks in the retting pits near the bank, opening others that have retted husks, beating the fibre out on heavy wooden planks with sticks of the wood of the bastard sago palm, and drying the fibre and spinning it into coir or coconut yarn for export through Cochin.” Similar observations can be made today.

3.3

COIR PROCESSING

In Kerala, coir is traditionally processed in four steps: retting of husks, extracting of fiber, formation of yarn, and weaving (Venkatappa Rao and Balan 2000). The first two steps involve the processing of coir fiber, which can result in either “white fiber” (from green coconuts) or “brown fiber” (from mature coconuts). The retting process allows for the loosening of fiber, so that the fiber can be more easily removed from the husk. White coir fiber is processed using traditional retting methods for loosening the fiber from the husk. In this method, green coconuts are soaked in brackish water for 8 to 10 months to remove natural tannins, which encourage bacterial action to decompose fiber-binding pectin (Rammohan 1999). This is traditionally done by driving a pole into the sediment of the backwater, arranging the husks on top of one another in a circle around the pole, covering the husks with mud and palm leaves, and weighing down the bundle under the water with rocks (Rammohan 1999). Retting of husks is also done by placing husks in brackish ponds (see Figure 3.3), pits dug in brackish, swampy areas, or by soaking husks in tanks. Relatively new retting techniques are used to produce brown fiber. The process consists of soaking mature coconuts in storage tanks and treating them with bio-inoculant to reduce retting times, a process which takes only 5 days. However, the longer the husks are soaked, the better the quality and color of yarn and the higher the strength of the fiber (Venkatappa Rao and Balan 2000). “White fiber” is typically produced in Kerala. The second step is the extraction of fiber from the coconut shell, which is traditionally done by women beating retted husks with wooden mallets (see Figure 3.4). Fiber-extraction machines Brackish water is water that has more salinity than freshwater, but less than seawater. It results from the mixing of freshwater and seawater, typical of backwaters located along coastlines. 

20  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

FIGURE 3.3: Retting of husks in a brackish pond.

FIGURE 3.4: Beating coconut husks with a wooden mallet to remove fiber.

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  21

have also been introduced to eliminate the need for beating. These jobs are, however, typically performed by men (see Figure 3.5). The third step is the spinning of the 2- to 3-in. long retted fibers into yarn. The spinning of yarn is traditionally done by hand (see Figure 3.6); however, it is also done by using a hand-rotated spinning wheel, or ratt (see Figure 3.7a), which was introduced in Kerala by the Portuguese, Dutch, and English during the 15th and 16th centuries (Coir Board 1966), or a motorized ratt, which was introduced in Kerala in 1995 (Rammohan and Sundaresan 2003). Although mechanical devices are often used, they require workers, who are mostly women, to continuously walk forward and backward. To operate a hand-rotated ratt, one worker spins the ratt while two other workers walk backward feeding fiber into the ratt and drawing out strands of yarn (see Figure 3.7b). The yarn is later twisted to form a stronger yarn, which can either be used as an intermediate or final product. As an intermediate product, coir yarn can be weaved (step four) by hand or by machine to produce value-added products, such as mattresses or geotextiles (see Figure 3.8). As a final product, coir yarn can be used for low-technology products, such as material for fencing, scaffolding vines, fishing ropes, and house construction (Rammohan 1999). Of the more than 380,000 coir workers in Kerala, more than 280,000 women are employed in spinning and 60,000 in fiber extraction, with fewer than 20,000 men working in the retting operation (Rammohan and Sundaresan 2003).

FIGURE 3.5: Using a machine to remove fiber from coconut husks.

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FIGURE 3.6: Hand spinning coir fiber.

FIGURE 3.7: (a) Spinning coir fiber with a spinning wheel as (b) women workers walk back and forth feeding fiber into the spinning wheel.

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  23

FIGURE 3.8: (a) Making a value-added coir mattress and (b) coir door mats.

3.4

TECHNOLOGY

Although technological advances have been made in the mechanized brown fiber industry, which now accounts for 55% of the Indian coir industry and 68% of the world coir industry (FAO 2004), there has been much resistance to technology in the informal white fiber industry, which employs significant numbers of home-based women workers in Kerala. In terms of technology, white fiber women workers are generally skeptical that new technology will eliminate jobs, lower product quality, or not be affordable. Aiyappan (1965) touched on these issues in his anthropological study of the coir village, Mayur. For example, the spinning wheel was only introduced in Mayur in the 1940s, whereas it had been in use in Cochin, Alleppey, and Quilon for more than 40 years. Attempts to introduce other types of technology, such as Japanese mechanical beaters, were often met with resistance by both agents, who feared losses of profit margins, and workers, who feared losses in jobs, after some convincing by agents. Technological change in the form of dyeing yarn and weaving mats was only made possible in the village when the government organized a cooperative society. However, this required that workers work in a centralized facility and not in the home. In addition, cooperatives could only employ as many workers as needed to meet demand. The skepticism in bringing new technology to the white fiber coir industry was also noted by the Coir Board (1966), who conducted a comprehensive study of the industry in 1964. The skepticism, however, mostly centered around concerns about the quality of fiber and yarn produced Cooperatives are groups of people that are brought together through different government or private initiatives to form companies to manufacture products. Workers work in a central facility that generally contains mechanized equipment. The workers elect their own representatives and are paid minimum wages. 

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by mechanical means. For example, in the Anjengo area, it was feared that motorized willowing machines would break fiber into small pieces, decreasing the quality of spun yarn. Similarly, it was believed in the Alapat area that more regular and softer yarns could be produced by hand rather than by machine. The Coir Board (1966) stated that improvements in technology could lead to better quality, working conditions, and wages in many areas. However, consideration needed to be given for subsidizing machine purchases, providing areas for machines to be used, machine maintenance, availability of electricity, and worker training. Nonetheless, only 6 of the 14 production villages studied were involved with wheel spinning. The yarn spun from five production villages was entirely by hand.

3.5

CULTURE

One of the most fascinating aspects of the coir industry in Kerala is its social importance. For example, Aiyappan (1965) states, “The relationship between the employer and the employee is easy and pleasant, castes and sexes mingle freely, and kill the tedium of long hours of hard work by singing and story telling.” The social importance of the industry is also noted by the Coir Board (1966), “Real team spirit is visible in the many spinning yards in the area. A bundle of coir fibre is thrown into the spinning yard, just as a ball is kicked into the ground. After a spirited game, what emerges out as the score is a bundle of yarn beautifully folded and rolled.” Opportunities in the coir industry are, however, heavily based on gender and class. For example, men are typically employed in the retting of husks and weaving of yarn into products, and women are almost exclusively employed in the lower-paying jobs of fiber extraction and yarn production (see Table 3.1). For example, Aiyappan (1965) states, “The actual spinning is done in thatched sheds, mostly by women, and by girls and boys who are too genteel or too small for harder jobs. The prosperity of the village depends mostly on this industry by which the more enterprising of the villagers become rich.” He also goes on to describe the poor working conditions, such as how many workers must work under the hot sun with no shade, wade through marshes, and sit on wet ground for hours on end. The Coir Board (1966) also notes how the majority of fiber extraction and spinning work was conducted by women in either small-scale or cottage industries. The women work long hours, under sometimes harsh conditions, for very low wages. These social disparities are passed down from generation to generation as generations of families work in the industry. Because women make up a majority of the coir workers and are almost exclusively involved in the more arduous and lower-paying jobs of fiber extraction and yarn production, it is important to understand their situation and how it can be improved. Before engaging this topic, it is important to first consider the status of women in the coir industry and Kerala in relation to other women in India. Health, participation in the workforce, and access to education were selected as indicators of status for comparison purposes.

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  25

TABLE 3.1: Demographics of the coir industry (after Rammohan 1999) Steps in coir processing Retting husks

Extracting fiber

Yarn production

Weaving

Process

Raw husk to retted husk

Retted husk to raw fiber

Raw fiber to coir yarn

Coir yarn to product

Workers

0.16 lakh

0.62 lakh

2.77 lakh

NA

Gender

Men and women

Women

Women

Men and women

Caste

Lower castes

Lower castes

Lower castes

NA

NA = not available.

a

In terms of health, Kerala ranks very high in life expectancy for women (74.0 years) in comparison to India as a whole (65.3 years; see Table 3.2). In fact, Kerala has far exceeded India’s life expectancy for women for more than 20 years. Other critical indicators of the health of women are infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. As shown on Table 3.2, Kerala fares much better than India as a whole in both infant and maternal mortality. In fact, Kerala has decreased its infant mortality rate by more than 60% since 1981.

TABLE 3.2: Women’s health indicators Indicator

Kerala

India

1981

2001

1981

2001

Life expectancy

71.8

74.0

54.7

65.3

Death rate/1,000

6.4

NA

12.7

8.3

Infant mortality rate

41

15.3

79

71

Maternal mortality rate/lakh

NA

140

468

407

Source: Government of Kerala (2003). a NA = not available.

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Socioeconomic status also plays an important role in women’s health, in terms of access to clean drinking water and adequate food supplies. Based on the Government of Kerala (2003), 9.4% of people in rural areas and 20.3% of people in urban areas are below the poverty line. Although these percentages are high, they are much less than India as a whole (27.1% and 23.6%, respectively). Access to safe drinking water in households in Kerala, however, reveals a different picture, with only 16.9% of rural households having access to safe drinking water, compared with 42.8% in urban areas (Government of India 2003). Women’s participation in the workforce is another indicator of the status of women. As shown on Table 3.3, the percentage of women working in rural areas is greater than in urban areas in both Kerala and India as a whole (Government of Kerala 2003). This indicates that there may be a greater financial need for households in rural Kerala and India that force women to work, although more people in urban areas were found to be below the poverty line. This is interesting in light of the data shown on Table 3.4, which indicates that the percentage of total rural women workers who are marginalized has increased by nearly 25% over the last 30 years (Government of Kerala 2003). In 2001, nearly one-third of all rural women workers were marginalized. Table 3.5 shows the major employment opportunities for village women in Kerala. As shown on Table 3.5, the coir fiber industry is the largest employer of women (nearly 50%) in rural Kerala (Government of Kerala 2003). Although there are other employment opportunities, the other industries employ significantly fewer numbers of people than the coir industry. The reliance of women on the unstable and low-paying jobs in the coir industry put the lives of many rural women in a precarious position. This is in addition to the high frequency of work-related illnesses in the coir

TABLE 3.3: Women’s participation in the workforce indicators Year

Work participation rates (%) Kerala Rural

India Urban

Rural

Urban

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

1981

45.2

17.7

43.4

11.8

53.8

23.1

49.1

8.3

1991

47.9

16.9

46.8

13.0

52.6

26.8

48.9

9.2

2001

50.2

15.9

50.8

13.5

52.4

31.0

50.9

11.6

Source: Government of Kerala (2003).

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  27

TABLE 3.4: Distribution of rural workers in Kerala Year

Total workers (%)

Main workers (%)

Marginal workers (%)

Percent marginal workers to percent total workers

Males

45.5

45.3

0.24

0.5

Females

15.3

14.1

1.2

7.8

Males

45.2

41.2

4.0

8.8

Females

17.7

13.5

4.3

24.3

Males

47.9

44.9

3.0

6.3

Females

16.9

13.4

3.5

20.7

Males

50.2

41.0

9.3

18.5

Females

15.9

10.8

5.1

32.1

1971

1981

1991

2001

Source: Government of Kerala (2003).

industry resulting from inhaling dust, sitting in crouched positions for long periods of time, and walking long hours in all weather conditions. Access to education is another indicator of the status of women. As shown in Table 3.6, Kerala is far ahead of India, as a whole, in terms of literacy rate and bridging the gap between male and female literacy (Government of Kerala 2003). In addition to these indicators, there are also women empowerment issues, where customs and traditions dictate the limited role of women in decision making, their need to both work and take care of the home, and their lack of financial standing. Overall, the status of women in rural Kerala paints an ominous picture.

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TABLE 3.5: Major employment opportunities for village women Industry

Employment

Percent women participation

Percent women participation in all village industries

Women

Total

Coir fiber

27,912

60,642

46.0

43.6

Village pottery

6,189

11,255

55.0

9.7

Khadi

5,035

5,534

91.0

7.9

Textile

4,746

6,178

76.8

7.4

Palmgur

3,279

8,502

38.6

5.1

Lime

2,997

9,157

32.7

4.7

Total village industries

64,032

162,596

39.4

–

Source: Government of Kerala (2003).

3.6

STAKEHOLDERS AND THE COMMODITY CHAIN

A commodity chain, which refers to the “whole range of activities involved in the design, production, and marketing of a product” (Gereffi 1999), will be used to demonstrate the linkages between TABLE 3.6: Women’s education indicators Indicator

Kerala

India

1981

2001

1981

2001

Literacy rate (%)

65.7

88.0

29.86

54.2

Male–female gap in literacy

9.5

6.3

26.6

21.7

Primary school enrollment (millions)

NA

0.9

28.5

49.8

Upper primary school enrollment (millions)

NA

0.08

6.8

17.5

Source: Government of Kerala (2003).

The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India  29

the stakeholders of the Indian coir industry and to serve as a framework for discussing how interventions can be made to improve the industry. A simplified commodity chain is presented for the Indian coir industry in Figure 3.9. As shown, the coir industry globally connects those who use coir products, both on a global and national scale, to those that produce coir fiber, yarn, and products at various scales ranging from home-based cottage industries to large-scale factories. The top of the commodity chain includes the “users” of coir fiber, yarn, and products. In the RECP industry, the users include those involved with the design, selection, testing, and installation of RECPs, such as engineers, contractors, inspectors, technicians, and government regulators. This category can also include those international manufacturers that import coir fiber and yarn from India for the manufacture of coir products.

FIGURE 3.9: Coir commodity chain.

30  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

The users of coir fiber, yarn, and products are either indirectly or directly connected to manufacturers in India through “exporters” or “buying agents.” Although users can directly contact manufacturers in India, exporters and buying agents play a key role in connecting users to smaller, independent manufacturers to meet user supply needs at a lower price. As shown in Figure 3.9, the coir industry can be divided into three segments: fiber, yarn, and products. As shown, all three segments of the industry are performed in large-scale and smallscale factories and cooperatives; however, coir yarn is also processed in home-based cottage industries. Charankattu Coir Mfg. Pvt. Ltd. is a typical “large-scale” coir manufacturing company that manufactures coir RECPs, rugs, mats, carpets, and baskets. The company is located in an urban area of Alleppey, Kerala, employs between 150 and 199 people, and contains modern manufacturing facilities. The company exports between 90% and 95% of the products it manufactures, with a sales volume ranging between $1 and 2 million. “Small-scale” manufacturers are those that typically employ less than 100 people. Many small-scale manufacturers are involved in different aspects of coir processing, from retting to the production of products. The manufacturers might own some equipment, such as fiber extraction machines and looms; however, work is also done by hand. “Cooperatives,” as discussed above, are groups of people that are brought together through different government or private initiatives to, in effect, form companies that manufacture coir fiber, yarn, and products. Workers work in a central facility that generally contains mechanized equipment. The workers elect their own representatives and are paid minimum wages. “Cottage industries” represent those groups of people who work in the home processing coir fiber into yarn. Most work is done by hand. “Agents” or “middlemen” are involved with providing fiber to cottage industry workers and supplying factories with coir yarn. For example, middlemen supply cottage industry workers with coir fiber in the morning and buy the completed yarn at the end of the day, at an agreed-upon price per unit weight of completed yarn. Governments (central and state), agencies, and researchers also play indirect or external roles in the coir industry, such as undertaking initiatives to improve the coir industry. It is clear that conditions have not improved for women coir workers despite growth in the number of products that are made in the global economy. In fact, they have worsened. Therefore, there are questions as to why globalization has not improved the lives of women coir workers in Kerala and what can be done to turn the tides. These questions must be considered from multiple perspectives, starting with the women themselves, to gain a clearer picture of the situation, the status of women workers, and what strategies should be considered. • • • •

31

chapter 4

Case Study 4.1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter brings the three dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric) together through a case study on the status of women workers in the coir industry in Kerala. The methods used, results obtained, and an analysis and discussion of the results are presented in this chapter. Based on the results of the case study, recommendations are made on how global trends can be transcended into opportunities for women coir workers in Kerala.

4.2

METHODOLOGY

Field work was conducted in Kerala for 2 weeks in December 2002 and 4 weeks in January 2003 to gain a better understanding of the coir industry, from the processing of coir fiber, yarn, and products, available technology, and market conditions, to the stakeholders. The field work consisted of interviews with key stakeholders (women workers) and other stakeholders (manufacturers, exporters, government officials, agencies, engineers, and researchers) of the coir industry and the collection of data.

4.2.1 Interviews Women workers were interviewed from two different villages. The women were questioned regarding their background and family, financial status, work conditions, and changes in technology over time. They were also questioned regarding their ideas for improving the industry. Both structured and unstructured interviews were conducted (see Table 4.1 for typical questions). Each interview was taped and later transcribed. Detailed notes and observations were recorded in field notes and later analyzed. Village 1: Small village factory in the Vaikom Taluk. The first village, located in the Vaikom Taluk in the Kottayam District, was the home of a small village factory that manufactured coir yarn and carpets. The atmosphere in the village was pleasant, and the people were friendly. The village had narrow shaded roads that were flanked on either side by small houses that had small yards enclosed by fences. There were many tall trees that created a canopy over the village. The factory

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TABLE 4.1: Typical open-ended interview questions

Background and family –What is your age? How much education do you have? –Do you have any children? How old are they? Do they go to school? –Do other family members work? –Are you in good health? Financial –Do you own your home? Do you have any land? Do you grow any crops on your land? –Do you have electricity/gas? –Do you have a bank account? Are you able to save money? –Do other members of your family work? What do they do? Work –Do you earn a good wage? Do you earn enough money to support your family? –How many hours per day and week do you work? Do you work all year? –What is your typical day like? –Do you enjoy your job? –Have family members from other generations worked in the industry? Changes in technology –Have there been any changes in your job over the last several years? –What kind of technology would you like to see? –What do you think about new technology? was located under a large wooden structure with a thatched coir roof. The walls consisted of roller blinds that could be raised and lowered to control the temperature and amount of light within the structure. The structure housed two large looms that were used to weave carpets and several ratts that were used to hand spin coir yarn. The factory regularly employs the same 8–10 women each day. However, more women may be hired depending on the demand for the products. The women at the factory are exclusively employed in the spinning of coir fiber into yarn. The women normally work from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm each day; however, two shifts (6:00 am to 2:00 pm; 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm) are sometimes used during periods of high demand. The women are generally allowed 1.5 h for lunch. Because it is a factory, the women do not interact with middlemen.

Case Study  33

During the visit, the women workers demonstrated spinning on a ratt. The women were very pleasant and seemed genuinely happy and proud to demonstrate their work. After the demonstration, three women volunteered to be interviewed. Two of the women were 40 years old and one woman was 65 years old. Photographs are shown on Figure 4.1. Village 2: Home-based cottage industry in the Kadakkarappally Panchayat. The second village, located in the Kadakkarappally Panchayat in the Alappuzha District, was the home of a home-based cottage industry that manufactured coir yarn. This village gave a very different impression than the first. There was little vegetation on the dry ground, although trees provided some shade (see Figure 4.2). There were also remnants of dilapidated houses that had not been maintained. More than 50% of the homes in the Alappuzha District are without electricity (Government of Kerala 2001a), in comparison to only 13% in the Kottayam District (Government of Kerala 2001b.) Most of the women in the village work in the coir industry. The women normally work from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm everyday, with Sundays off. Each morning, a middleman comes to the village, gives the women coir fiber, and later returns for the completed spun yarn. The women spin the fiber into yarn by hand and receive wages agreed upon with the middleman. The women work outside during all types of weather. During the visit, the women workers demonstrated the hand spinning of coir fiber into yarn. The women workers were friendly; however, they were not interested in providing information for a study; they wanted to know how we were going to help them. Three women were interviewed. One woman was 61, the second woman was 43, and the third woman was 36 years old. Photographs are shown on Figure 4.2. Other stakeholders. In addition to interviewing the women workers (key stakeholders), the study went one step further to include interviews with other stakeholders of the coir industry, including manufacturers (large-scale, small-scale, and cooperatives) and exporters of coir products, state (chairman and managing director of the Coir Geotextile Division of the Kerala State Coir Corporation) and central government (deputy director of the Coir Board) officials, agencies (United Nations Development Programme), engineers, and researchers, to gain insight into their perceptions of the industry and its workers, the need for new technologies, and their ideas for improving the industry and the condition of its workers. Both structured and unstructured interviews were conducted. Each interview was taped and later transcribed. Detailed notes and observations were recorded in field notes and later analyzed.

4.2.2 Data Collected Literature on coir technologies, the production of coir fiber, yarn, and products in various parts of Kerala and India, import and export trends, and the status of women workers was also collected

FIGURE 4.1: Photographs from the small village factory.

Case Study  35

FIGURE 4.2: Photographs from the home-based cottage industry.

from government officials, agencies, engineers, and researchers during the site visits. We also visited local libraries to collect newspaper articles on the coir industry and its workers. This data was used to supplement information obtained during the interviews.

4.3

RESULTS

Overall, we found that although globalization has had profound positive impacts around the world, the coir industry in Kerala has virtually remained unchanged for women coir workers in terms of both wages and work conditions. Based on the results of the field work, the women workers in both the small village factory (Vaikom) and the home-based cottage industry (Kadakkarappally) make

36  Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and the Global World

meager wages, have no health care benefits, have no bank accounts or savings, and work long hours, both at their jobs and for their families, such as preparing meals and washing clothes. Only one of the three workers interviewed from the small village factory (Vaikom) had electricity in her home, but did not use it to cook with. Some of the workers had electricity in the home-based cottage industry (Kadakkarappally). The women in the home-based cottage industry (Kadakkarappally) also stated that they work outside, without even a roof to cover their heads. The women also noted that they had few other work opportunities. For example, one woman noted that she used to be a tailor, but changed to the coir industry because there was not enough work. The wages that the workers earn in the small village factory (Vaikom) are generally just enough to pay for their daily expenses. For example, it was noted that the women workers in the small village factory (Vaikom) earn about 50 Rs ($1.04) per day. The amount is enough for food and daily living. In the home-based cottage industry (Kadakkarappally), the wages are even less, around 20 Rs ($0.42) per day. The workers also noted that it is much more expensive to eat now than it was years ago, indicating that wages have not kept pace with the cost of living. The other stakeholders interviewed (manufacturers, exporters, government officials, agencies, engineers, and researchers) believe that wages and conditions need to be improved for women coir workers. For example, the state government official stated that the spinning sector is not being given due consideration and the people receive meager wages. The official noted that three people used to share 150 Rs ($3.12); now, three people share 75–80 Rs ($1.56–$1.67). If workers do make more than 6,000 Rs ($125) in annual income, they must pay tax. In comparison, the best quality product sells for more than $100 per square foot (approximately 4,000 Rs), indicating the disparity between the final price of the product versus what women producers earn. The stakeholders (manufacturers, exporters, government officials, agencies, engineers, and researchers) also discussed several global trends that they believe negatively affect the coir industry and its workers. These trends, which were synthesized from data collected during the interviews, include: (1) decreases in wages due to global competition; (2) the inability to compete due to the lack of technology; and (3) the appearance of middlemen that create layers of inefficiencies in the global chain. The stakeholders also believe that there is a great deal of potential in the global and national coir market and went on to present ideas for how they thought conditions could be improved for the key stakeholders of the coir industry in Kerala, the women coir workers.

4.3.1 Global Competition The majority of the stakeholders interviewed noted both global and national competition as key factors that were hurting women coir workers. The large-scale manufacturer expressed concern regarding competition from other countries, in particular Sri Lanka, which he believes produces “much better fiber” at a cheaper price. He (the large-scale manufacturer) believes that Kerala’s production

Case Study  37

prices must decrease to remain competitive. He also noted that high shipping and handling fees are hurting the export of coir products from Kerala. For example, the freight charges of coir mattresses are around 90% of their total value. The state government official noted that the coir industry is also seeing competition from other low-priced natural fibers, such as sea grass from China, and believes that it is only a matter of time before China takes over the carpet industry. The exporter noted that fiber and labor prices are cheaper in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, and because of this, many exporters are exploiting the labor in Tamil Nadu. Some exporters are even sending workers to other countries to manufacture products in developed countries at Kerala’s wage rates. The state government official believes that Kerala needs to produce cheaper as well as more expensive, higher-quality products to attract users on both sides of the spectrum. The state government official believes that the industry will be driven by market interest in either handmade products with general details or machine-made products with technical details. The agency official interviewed believes that a marketing strategy is needed, with the main objective being to cater to international market demand. It is also believed, by both the agency and the state government official, that the coir-producing countries need to join together to strengthen the industry.

4.3.2 Technology The stakeholders noted that the lack of technology was hurting women workers and their ability to compete in the global market. The large-scale manufacturer stated that Sri Lanka has been using mechanized fiber spinning for more than 40 years; whereas, the coir industry in Kerala has traditionally been a labor-oriented industry because of the large numbers of women workers willing to work for very low wages. The state government official noted that because women are already working for very low wages, any increases in their wages would affect the price of the product, making them unable to compete in the global market. Therefore, they believe that technology must be implemented to increase the quality and quantity of coir fiber, yarn, and products produced. The stakeholders also noted that technology is needed to produce higher quality, standardized products to remain competitive in the global market. Coir yarn and products are currently manufactured using different processes, for different lengths of time, with different manual and mechanical techniques, and with different types of coir fiber, depending on the age and species of coconut available. The stakeholders also acknowledged the difficulties in implementing technologies in smallscale and cottage industries. The large-scale manufacturer noted how implementing technology is not as simple as simply providing the equipment; there is a need to consider other needs, such as electricity and maintenance. The state government official noted that small-scale industries could not afford to invest in current technologies. The cooperative representative also noted that space is needed to house large machines and space for storing raw materials and finished products. For example, in his coir mattress factory, he (the cooperative representative) needs to store coir for 45

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days to get the necessary curling effect. Based on the interviews with the women workers, there also seems to be a great amount of resistance to technology with the women workers. The small-scale workers noted that they prefer to work by hand. They are concerned that with machines, their work, money, and wages will decrease and fear that machines can replace them. The cottage industry workers also noted that they do not want technology; they only want more wages. The women workers did have ideas for improving the work, but were afraid to share their ideas with us for fear of losing their jobs or being replaced by a machine. Overall, they are not happy with technology and do not want machines to replace them!

4.3.3 Middlemen The stakeholders also noted that women workers are being hurt because of middlemen, which are creating layers of inefficiencies between the informal and formal economy. The central government official stated, “traditional industries like coir…they are not getting better wages because there are so many interventions in between.” He also stated that if product prices increase, the “price increase needs to go down to the bottom, this is the production center.” The exporter, who is often one of those “interventions” stated that, “I think it is the people who are producing in this chain who do not really get anything new, additional money.” Although he acknowledges problems in the industry, he believes that, “the middleman is very important, but doesn’t do any work.”

4.3.4 Summary In summary, the stakeholders are generally in agreement that certain aspects of globalization have hurt women coir workers. However, they all appeared to be optimistic that there is a great deal of potential in the global and national coir market. They varied somewhat in their ideas on how to help women workers and focused on different global trends. For example, the state government believes that government officials need longer tenancy in their posts (currently they are in their posts for 1 to 2 years) to be able to make a difference and more training to understand the global and national coir market and its trends (global competition). The central government, through the Coir Board, believes that the industry needs to be modernized to be able to compete in the global market (technology). The large-scale manufacture believes that women coir workers need to be educated and made aware of how the industry works to create self-managed groups to be able to bypass middlemen (middlemen).

4.4

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Coir fiber is an important global commodity for both users and producers of coir fiber, yarn, and products. India continues to be an important player in this global market. Although the coir industry is a free market, there have been several market failures that have lead to the continued margin-

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alization of women coir workers in Kerala. These failures can be attributed to competition in the global market, the emergence of technology, and the appearance of middlemen. This section first presents an analysis of the global coir market then discusses the market failures.

4.4.1 Global Coir Market Before discussing the market failures in the coir industry, it is important to have a general understanding of the global coir industry and its trends to evaluate how globalization is affecting women workers and where efforts should be focused. This section briefly describes trends in the global coir fiber, yarn, and product market. It is important to understand the trends in coir fiber to anticipate future trends in the coir yarn and coir product markets. Coir fiber. Over the last 25 years, India has generally been the leading producer of coir fiber in the world (FAOSTAT 2008). India experienced rapid growth in the production of coir fiber in the early 1990s, which has been unmatched by any other raw coir-producing country (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Philippines, and Vietnam). Although India is the world’s largest producer of coir fiber, it has historically exported very little and lags far behind the world leader, Sri Lanka, who has dominated world exports of coir fiber since the early 1970s (FAOSTAT 2008). However, the market has witnessed changes over the last several years with the addition of several new players (Belgium, China, Germany, Indonesia, Spain, United States, and Venezuela) into the coir fiber export market. India’s exports of coir fiber have, however, been steadily increasing in recent years, going from 1% of the world’s coir fiber export market in 1996 to nearly 11% in 2002 (FAOSTAT 2008). More than 20 countries around the world typically import coir fiber (FAOSTAT 2008). Although it is an important commodity, the industry has seen very little growth over the last 30 years, with the exception of China, which has seen unprecedented growth in coir fiber imports over the last decade. In fact, China accounts for nearly 40% of the total coir fiber global imports today. However, the major historic importers of coir fiber, Germany, United States, UK, and Japan, have seen decreasing trends in coir fiber imports since the early 1970s, although Germany and the United States each still account for 8% of the market. In recent years, new markets have also emerged in the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia. Between 2002 and 2004, the top two importers of coir fiber from India were the Netherlands (41%) and Belgium (14%). Although these have been viable markets for India’s coir fiber, these countries made up only 8.3% of total world coir fiber imports in 2002 (FAOSTAT 2008). India averaged less than 1.5% of coir fiber exports to the top three importers (China, United States, and Germany) of coir fiber in 2002. Coir yarn. Over the last 25 years, India has been the leading producer and exporter of coir yarn in the world (FAOSTAT 2008.) Although India has been the leading exporter of coir yarn, the quantity of coir yarn exported decreased by more than 60% between 1970 and the early 1980s and has remained at that level. Although Sri Lanka exports less than 40% of the amount of yarn that

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India does, they have been steadily gaining in the market share of coir yarn exports in recent years, although the market has witnessed a decreasing trend in coir yarn imports since the early 1970s. This indicates that more countries are processing their own coir yarn from coir fiber imports. Coir products. In terms of coir product imports, the market has been relatively flat since the early 1970s, with the exception of the United States and UK, who have seen growth in imports since the mid-1990s (FAOSTAT 2008). The demand for coir products in the United States has nearly tripled since the mid-1990s (FAOSTAT 2008). This demand is primarily being met by India and Sri Lanka, and to lesser extents the Philippines, Italy, France, Germany, and China. Although Sri Lanka is gaining in the global coir product export share, India, who has witnessed rapid growth in coir product exports since the early 1990s, still holds 80% of the global coir product market. India produces many different coir products (mats, mattings, geotextiles, rugs, carpets, rubberized coir) and exports them to more than 43 countries around the world (Coir Board 2004). Summary. In summary, consideration for participation in the global market and where efforts should be made to help women workers should be based on global market trends. For example, the coir fiber market has witnessed the addition of several new countries (Belgium, China, Germany, Indonesia, Spain, United States, and Venezuela) producing coir fiber in recent years, which will most likely drive down the price for coir fiber. The global fiber market is also decreasing, with the exception of China. It also appears that more countries are processing their own coir fiber with decreasing trends in coir yarn exports. The global coir product market, however, seems promising, with exports of a variety of different products to many different countries growing.

4.4.2 Market Failures The industry has also witnessed several market failures. These are discussed in the following sections. Competition. Although the global market has created more demand for coir, it has also caused the export prices for coir yarn to remain relatively low through increased competition from both within and outside of India (see Figure 4.3). As shown, the export prices for matting and mats, which are value-added coir products, have steadily increased; whereas, the export prices for coir yarn and rope, which are low-technology products manufactured by women workers, have decreased over the last 20 years. This global trend is particularly difficult for women coir workers, who have been spinning coir fiber into yarn in much the same way as it was 20 years ago, with very few technological advances to increase the rate of production or improve work conditions. The decrease in the value of coir fiber and yarn can be attributed to the fact that global markets are always in search of workers that will work for less, raw materials that cost less, and technologies that can produce for less, whether it is in India or another developing country.

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FIGURE 4.3: Export prices of coir matting, mats, yarn, and ropes (after Coir Board 2004).

In India, the need to continually reduce prices for coir, particularly coir fiber and coir yarn, to remain competitive in the global market has led to a market failure in being able to fairly pay workers in relation to the value they contribute. Despite the low wages and poor conditions, large numbers of women in Kerala must work in the industry because their families cannot afford to live on a single, traditionally male salary (Standing 1989) and because they have no other alternatives. The coir industry is one of the very few industries available to women where they can work from their homes or in their villages and still maintain their domestic duties, such as cooking meals and taking care of their children. The question is, therefore, what market direction should be taken to improve and sustain the lives of women coir workers in Kerala? First, let us consider the value per quantity of coir products produced between 2001 and 2004 (see Figure 4.4). In the figure, we see that coir yarn, which is produced by women workers, has one of the least values per quantity produced, with little potential for growth in value. In comparison, the value-added products (mats, mattings, geotextiles, carpets, and rubberized coir) have much higher values per quantity produced. For example, the average value per quantity of coir carpets produced is 66% higher than for coir yarn and 86% higher than for coir fiber. This indicates that, even with the global growth of the coir yarn industry, which could potentially further decrease the price of coir yarn, this market is not enough to sustain women coir workers in Kerala. Even with increased technology, it is doubtful that by producing more fiber for the global market, women workers would be significantly benefited. Technology. Although technology has played an important role in the spread of globalization around the world, it has not always assisted in the integration of global economies and societies,

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FIGURE 4.4: Value per quantity for coir fiber, yarn, and products (after the Coir Board 2004).

particularly in labor-intensive industries, which has led to market failures. First, the emergence of technology has virtually excluded women workers from competing in the global market. Women workers make meager wages, have no bank accounts, and have no savings, giving them little ability to pay for equipment, upgrades in existing equipment, infrastructure, operation costs, or maintenance costs. They also have limited knowledge of technological advances, markets for existing or new products, or access to information to enter new markers. In effect, they have no ability to keep up with a fast-paced, technologically advanced global market. Technology may also lead to the reduction in the total number of women coir workers needed to produce coir yarn. Women often lose technical jobs to men, who typically operate machinery. Technology has also raised issues regarding the quality of yarn produced by women workers, further decreasing their ability to compete in the global market in their current capacity. The emergence of technology has also further driven down the price for coir yarn and coir products because people with access to technology can produce more, higher quality yarn and products for less. Middlemen. One group that has evolved as a direct result of globalization is the intermediaries, or middlemen. Middlemen connect producers to global or national users, and although they can provide a vital function in joining producers to markets that they would not necessarily have access to, they also add cost to the final product. In some cases, they are in direct control of the wages that are paid to producers, which is the case in the coir cottage industry in the Kadakkarappally Panchayat. Because they virtually remove women coir workers from the global market, they create a

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FIGURE 4.5: The coir commodity chain showing how women in cottage industries (center) are far removed from the rest of the global market.

market failure in that they set wages for women workers, not the market, and control women’s participation in the market. Figure 4.5 presents a conceptual view of the coir commodity chain. As shown in the center of the figure, middlemen have effectively disconnected women coir workers from the rest of the commodity chain, putting women workers at the direct mercy of the middlemen for their wages. In most cases, women workers lack any direct contact to fiber producers, manufacturers, or users. Coupled with that, women workers also lack information to know how the industry works, what fair rates should be paid for coir yarn and products, about new technologies that could potentially help them produce more, and about new products that could be produced that will pay a higher value per quantity produced.

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Middlemen not only control wages and information, but most likely take any additional inputs into the system that are meant to benefit women workers. They, in effect, create a market failure in that any additional money in the industry will not be put back into the system in terms of infrastructure, new technologies, or worker education and training. Women workers also lack information to know what fair rates should be paid for coir fiber, yarn, and products, new technologies that could potentially help them produce more, and new products that could be produced that will pay a higher value per quantity produced.

4.5

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT CAN BE DONE

Although there have been market failures that have contributed to the continued marginalization of women coir workers, the global market does present significant opportunity for the coir industry and its workers. This section makes recommendations, along with their pros and cons, for addressing these market failures and capitalizing on globalization. 1. Capitalize on the large domestic market. Although opportunities for growth are present in the global coir yarn market, mostly due to China’s entry into the market, it is likely that the export prices for coir yarn will continue to decrease, or at the very least, remain the same. At current prices, without improvements in technology or the elimination of middlemen, the global coir yarn market will never be able to improve wages or the work conditions for women workers. It is therefore believed that, in the short-term, efforts should be made to capitalize on the large domestic market, particularly with India having reached the one billion mark in population. In fact, India has been noted as the fastest growing economy of the world’s democracy (Bhatia 2000). This concept was successful in the cashew nut industry in Mozambique (Carr 2005). Although there will still be competition from within and outside of India for cheaper fiber and yarn, the reduction in shipping costs and the more direct link to internal markets could potentially increase the prices for coir fiber and yarn. Having said that, however, the global coir yarn market should not be abandoned because it does provide women with work that is needed, even though the wages are meager, and has growth potential. The pros to this recommendation are that the domestic market is thriving and the global market has significant potential. Links are already in place that could potentially connect women workers to these markets. For example, although the middlemen are often exploitive, they could establish links to domestic markets for both coir yarn and coir products. In addition, the Coir Board has regional offices for promoting the development of the coir industry and showrooms and sales depots that promote sales in the domestic market. Existing programs are also already in place, such as training programs through the Coir Board, that could be strengthened to help educate and train women workers. Bajaj

Case Study  45

(2000) noted that many programs for helping poor women workers in informal industries are already in place; they just need better governance and reach. The cons are that it will take significant time and effort to educate, unite, and train women coir workers to harness this market. Based on the interviews with women coir workers, the women had very little knowledge of the industry outside of the production of coir yarn. They also had little knowledge of what coir yarn is used for, how much it sells for, or who buys it. The primary hurdle to this recommendation would be the need to attract the attention of policy makers to help redirect and finance these efforts. 2. Implement technology. In the short-term, it is believed that any technological upgrading that is affordable, straightforward to implement, and easy to maintain should be implemented in the villages. This will enable women workers to produce more fiber in a given amount of time, thereby increasing their earning potential. Although there are many critical issues that would need to be evaluated before beginning to implement or upgrade technology, many elements of an enabling environment are present. For example, India has a national institute for technology innovation in the Coir Board that can initiate, develop, modify, and diffuse new technologies. The Coir Board has three regional offices for promoting the development of the coir industry, two research institutes (The Central Coir Research Institute and the Central Institute of Coir Technology) that are engaged in research and development, and showrooms and sales depots that promote sales in the domestic market. There are also numerous social organizations that can be used to facilitate the selection of appropriate technologies for rural areas and to break any cultural and/or language gaps that may exist. Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are one such organization that can assist with the implementation of new technology in rural villages. NGOs are currently involved in the field training of women in spinning with motorized ratts. There are also, however, several cons to this recommendation. The first is whether or not there is infrastructure in place to support the technology. For example, during the interviews, the representative of the cooperative noted the large size of the machines and the storage space required for the coir mattress factory. The women workers interviewed owned between 20 and 50 m2 of land, which was barely enough for their homes and a small garden. Second, few homes have access to electricity. As discussed, more than 56% of the homes in the Kadakkarappally Panchayat and 13% of the homes in the Vaikom Taluk are without electricity. Third, most village women do not have any resources to maintain the equipment. Rammohan (1999) noted in his 1996–1997 study of the coir industry in Kerala that only about 50–60% of the spinning machines were working because specialists and spare parts were not readily available. Women workers also do not have the ability to

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pay for upgrades, new equipment, new infrastructure, or maintenance. As discussed above, the women workers in both the small-scale factory and the cottage industry make meager wages and have no bank accounts or savings. Even if equipment were to be subsidized, it would not be possible to maintain the equipment in their current status. Worker resistance to technology is also an important consideration. The small-scale workers noted that there have been some changes in technology over the years; however, they are very concerned about losing their jobs. They are not interested in technology; they only want more wages. Equity issues are also often a negative outcome of technological advances. For example, who will control the technology, will the workers be required to relocate, will women workers lose ownership of their work, will women workers be better off financially and in terms of status, and will women lose their jobs to men who typically operate machinery. These issues and more need careful consideration before implementing any technology. 3. Strengthen women’s capacity for bypassing the middleman. Middlemen can provide a vital function in connecting producers to users. However, it is important that women workers have the ability to protect themselves from being exploited by middlemen. Women should be provided with training, education, information on market conditions, and other options. Women also need to be given information on how to connect to other sources for coir fiber and markets for selling their products so that they have other options and can obtain competitive prices for their products. The pros to this recommendation are that it would strengthen the capacity of the women to be in control of their own employment and give them autonomy. The cons to this recommendation are that it will be difficult and time consuming to implement. It would take a significant effort to educate and train women on the industry, the market, and how to respond to changing market conditions. 4. Produce value-added products. Coir yarn is a low-value/quantity-produced material. Because of this, women workers can do little, if anything, to improve the value of the yarn produced. Therefore, it is believed that, in the long-term, changes need to be implemented at the small-scale and cottage industry levels to develop value-added products. It is important that efforts be made to develop products that can either be made by hand or that use technologies that are straight-forward, cost-effective, and easy to maintain, and have widespread use both nationally and globally. This would not only strengthen the position of women workers domestically, but could potentially put them in a better position to compete in the global coir product market, which is growing, particularly in the US and UK.

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The pros to this recommendation are that India has a large domestic and global coir market, and opportunities for growth are present, particularly for value-added products. Technology is available that can increase production rates and be used to manufacture value-added products. The addition of technology in the villages will also give women coir workers the ability to produce more coir fiber and yarn faster. This will, in the interim, enable women to earn more money for the time they work. This will also improve the quality of the coir fiber and yarn produced, making them more competitive in the global and national markets. In the long-term, women coir workers will benefit if they have the capabilities to manufacture value-added products and are able to cater to the demands of the market. There are also several cons to this recommendation. Although technology is available to manufacture value-added products, there is a need for the development of new products, technology, and equipment that can be owned, used, and maintained by women coir workers. Transitioning women to the use of new technologies and the development of value-added products will be difficult. Training programs would need to be developed to train women coir workers on how the industry works, what prices they should charge for their products, what options are available to them, what products they could manufacture, how they could receive credit to purchase equipment, how they could market their products, and how they could receive timely information on the market. This will take time and the work of the government, agencies, NGOs, and others to provide guidance and emotional and financial support to women workers. 5. Unite coir producers. It is believed that coir producers need to join together to command higher prices that are more equitable for the producers. This needs to be done on both a local, national, and international level. This idea was noted by the agency official. The Coir Board is in an ideal position to attempt to unite coir producers, both nationally and internationally. However, it will take political will to focus efforts in that direction.

4.6

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

It is believed that the plight of the women coir workers will need to come to the attention of policy makers by way of a policy entrepreneur or through a significant attention-getting event, such as widespread employment or famine to legitimize the problem. Without it, it is doubtful that sufficient political will can be generated to enact change. Although the Coir Board, which is a statutory body established by the central government to promote and develop the coir industry, is in an excellent position to take on this challenge, they have

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an ambitious agenda that focuses on all aspects of the industry, not just on the women workers. In addition, their agendas and budgets are dictated by the central government. Similarly, the Kerala State Coir Corporation is also not in a position to take on this challenge. The state government official interviewed noted that people in these positions have limited tenancy, which limits their ability to make a difference. In addition, there is little interaction between people within the offices. Therefore, in the short-term, it is believed that the Coir Board should take the lead in refocusing efforts in the coir industry. They have the backing of the central government and already have two research institutions, 1 training center, and 33 showrooms and sales depots in place. The Coir Board is also in a position to interact with coir-producing countries on a global level to establish equitable prices for coir fiber, yarn, and products and to come up with ideas for the future of the industry. For the long-term, activists, agencies, NGOs, and manufacturers should be approached in implementing training programs in villages to educate village women on the industry, its trends, and the outlook for the future. Women could be provided with up-to-date information on the industry through computer kiosks, located in central locations that display current information on the market, announcements for seminars and training sessions, and other modes for educating women workers. Women also need to be given information on how to connect to other sources for fiber and markets for selling their products so that they have other options and can obtain a competitive price for their products. It is important to involve the women workers early in the process of change. This could be done through a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique, which is an approach for shared learning between local people and outside stakeholders, such as government officials, NGOs, and agencies. Women should also be trained in capacity building, taught to lobby, and provided with information on programs, activities, and laws. NGOs should also be encouraged to help train women in organizing, developing decision-making skills, and translating languages and identifying women with potential. Grants, subsidies, and loans should also be available for women workers at the village level who would like to own equipment or make value-added products.

4.7

SUMMARY

Overall, the coir industry is a complex and significant issue. India has been and continues to be an important player in the global coir market. Although India’s exports of coir yarn have decreased in recent years, opportunities for growth are present. There are also growth opportunities for valueadded coir products, such as RECPs, both within and outside of India. Consideration needs to be given to export prices, competition from other countries, potential markets, and profitability at the base of the chain to evaluate the true potential of the coir yarn and coir product markets.

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There are many issues associated with technological upgrading and implementing new technology in the coir industry in Kerala, such as infrastructure, access to electricity, and ability to maintain equipment. However, many aspects of an enabling environment for technological upgrades in the coir industry are present, such as national institutions for technology innovation, some involvement of social organizations, and training centers. However, a significant amount of work would be needed to ensure that rural women would be sufficiently informed, trained, and financially supported to implement new technology. In addition, a significant amount of work would be needed to develop new technologies for producing coir products at the village level, meeting technical standards that would need to be developed, and assuring that the standards were met. Consideration must also be given to equity issues. For example, who will control the technology, will the workers be required to relocate, will women workers lose ownership of their work, will women workers be better off financially and in terms of status, and will women lose their jobs to men who typically operate machinery. These issues and more need careful consideration before implementing any new technology. It is also imperative to find ways to bypass the middlemen. Although the middlemen have been portrayed in a negative light, they can provide important connections to global, national, and local markets. • • • •

51

chapter 5

Conclusion Over the last two decades, globalization has had a profound impact on how we view the world and its sustainability. We have entered an age where we are concerned about society (sociocentric) and the environment (ecocentric), and how we can technically achieve sustainability (technocentric). We want to know that the materials, products, and methods we are using are “sustainable” and that the “producers” of these materials and products are being paid a fair wage and have good working conditions. One group of professionals that lies at the heart of sustainability is engineers. Engineers are trained problem solvers, trained to implement technical solutions and are at the forefront of the development of new technologies. Although engineers play a critical role in sustainability, traditional engineering programs typically only focus on the technocentric and ecocentric dimensions of sustainability, providing little training on the sociocentric dimension. With more and more interest in sustainability, it is becoming increasingly important to also provide engineers with an awareness of sociocentric issues and the necessary skills to address them. In this book, we have attempted to bridge this gap by providing engineering educators with a real-life case study that can be brought into existing courses. The case study focuses on how our engineering study of different natural plant fibers for soil erosion control led us to a developing country where the production of natural plant fibers has been embedded in society for hundreds of years. Although globalization has led to the increased demand for many new natural fiber products, little has changed for the marginalized workers that produce natural fibers in developing countries in terms of wages or work conditions. In this study, we demonstrate the many different linkages and complex connections between global “users” and “producers” through a case study of the coir fiber industry in Kerala, India. In the erosion control industry, the “users” include those involved with the design, selection, testing, and installation of RECPs, such as engineers, contractors, inspectors, technicians, government regulators. The “producers” include the workers in the factories, cooperatives, and cottage industries that produce the fiber. The purpose of the case study is to bring awareness of the chain and its complexity to engineers and to demonstrate to them how they are “connected” to the chain. The chain also dem-

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onstrates the connection between the technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric dimensions of sustainability. The case study also gives ideas as to how to go about studying global industries and what can be done to improve their sustainability. It is hoped that engineering educators find this case study useful in helping to broaden the educational experiences of their students. This is an exciting time for engineering educators, who are at the crossroads of enacting change in the engineers of tomorrow, broadening them from their typical stereotypes into global engineers. • • • •

53

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Author Biography Shobha K. Bhatia is Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith professor and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. She has made significant contributions to both engineering research and engineering education. Her engineering research has focused on the application of geosynthetics and natural materials in waste containment, road and building construction, and erosion control. She has more than 80 publications; has received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and many other private organizations; has participated in national and international conferences; and has served in numerous capacities, such as vice president of the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), member of the Technical Coordination Council (TCC), and member of the International Activity Council of the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). She has also been extensively involved in engineering education. She is codirector of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) initiative at Syracuse University. She has also been part of national initiatives to increase the number of women in leadership positions in academia through her projects funded from the NSF ADVANCE program. She played an important role in the NSF-funded Engineering Education Scholar Program, which was designed to prepare young faculty for academic careers. She is also the recipient of a NSF Faculty Achievement Award for Women for excellence in research and leadership in training future engineers and has received several national and international awards, including the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) Award for Excellence in Fostering Sustained and Unique Collaborations in International Research and Education. Jennifer Smith is an assistant professor of construction management and wood products engineering at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNYESF) in Syracuse, New York. She recently completed her MA degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and a PhD degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University. Her engineering research has focused on characterizing geotextiles for use in filtration applications and the fundamental properties and performance of sustainable natural fibers, such as wood, straw, coconut, and jute for erosion control. In addition to taking courses in environmental

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economics and policy, her policy research has focused on the social impacts of natural fiber use, in particular how globalization can be used to create opportunities and sustain women coir workers in Kerala, India. She has more than 20 publications, several of which have received awards, and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute Committee on Geotechnics of Soil Erosion and the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS). She has 8 years of experience as a geotechnical engineer for local engineering firms and is a licensed professional engineer in New York. She currently teaches courses in sustainable construction and construction management.