The coconut is a very common plant in the Philippines. It has been here since the world began. According to my friend's research (Yedra, R 2012), the origin of those coconuts in South America is the Philippines. Our Filipino ancestors riding on their traditional boats brought with them our coconuts 2230 years BP (Before Present). Wherever you look and wherever you go in our country, there is coconut. We exported at least $2 billion in 2011 for coconut products, 70% of which is from coconut oil. The US, UK and Japan are our major importing partners. The now famous health essential Virgin coconut Oil (VCO) belongs to the 30%, much more so with the upcoming healthier sugar, the coco sugar, which is said to have lower glycemic index per weight basis compared to cane sugar.
There are hundreds of products coming from the coconut, and I will be showing only some of them.
Coconut trees dominate our skyline, most especially along the expressways to the provinces
Barangay roads are usually lined also with coconut trees, even if their fields are mostly planted with them
coconuts thrive even on marginal and hilly areas and can be seen as far as your eyes can see
It is very well studied and an agency, Philippine Coconut Authority, with its satellite centers around the country fully works on it
Every part of this crop is utilized for many purposes; trunk, midribs, leaves, husk, shell, mature nuts, young nuts, coconut water, coconut milk, oil, dessicated meat, flowers, coconut toddy, fresh flower sap, buds and a lot more. The choir dust which is a by-product of getting the choir fiber from the husks is very much sought for by nurseries and farms as very good soil conditioning ingredient.
these nuts from PCA, Zamboanga Research Center will either be for seedlings or for copra
Nuts differ in weights, sizes, shapes, quality of meat, and quality of oil
An example of the extreme size difference of two varieties
a teapot (above) and a bowl container (below) made from the mature shell
mature shells made into chandelier
those coffee table boxes and organizers are composites of coconut husks and cement and mounted at the sides with our hardwood (narra-our national tree)
I consider this as the most beautiful product from coconut, a cottage mostly made of the composite fiberboard made from coconut husk and trunk. The floors and furnitures are wood parquet from the coconut trunk. During my two visits to the PCA Zamboanga Research Center, i stayed here all by myself. There was a kitchen, a T&B, a living room and bedrooms on the second floor. A verandah with the blue railings is at the 2nd floor, where I cam out to watch the birds.
Coconut fronds dominate not only our sunsets but our sunrise scenes as well. It really is our sunshine crop!
.jpg)
That is just so interesting, Andrea... I cannot get over all of the things made with coconut (teapot, bowl, chandelier, coffee table boxes, and even that cottage)... WOW---I'm so impressed...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have that teapot... AWESOME..
Hugs,
Betsy
Very interesting Andrea. I am a fan of the coconut. It's amazing how one coconut will float miles and miles of ocean and then begin its life. An incredible plant for sure. Your pictures are always refreshing.....it's so beautiful in your area.
ReplyDeleteYes Kreesh, and if you happen to capsize on river or sea, a coconut will save you from drowning as it can keep you afloat. Keep that in mind or better bring a coconut with you all the time, hahaha!
DeleteGreat post, I learned a few new things! Thanks. LT
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming over, i love your title Little Expanded! I love your photos in your site and of course i love the plants and animals not seen in this part of the world.
DeleteAndrea, I keep thinking how much our countries have in common.
ReplyDeleteCoconut is in abundance all over India too. We too use it like 95 %,and enjoy the fruit in many cooking preparations!
Loved your photographs and the handicraft work on coconut shells.They are carved out so well.
It is a kind of bonding, when one sees similar patterns across the seas.
yes Pattu you are right. Thanks for always coming over, but i cannot return the favor as i realized you don't have an active blogsite yet.
Deletewonderful and interesting pics! nice to see what can be all done with a coconut :)
ReplyDeleteTree of life indeed! I think Coconut is also very ornamental as a plant :)
ReplyDeleteYes Mark and Gaz, the plant itself is really very ornamental, and most especially because they have many varieties too. Have you seen the whitish and the golden?
DeleteIt's a miracle tree! The Bicol countryside is crowded with coconut trees, thank heavens for that. Andrea, I love the coconut house where you stayed, and also the teapot. Beautiful! Regards, Karmi
ReplyDeleteYes Karmi, that cottage is what i want the most, if only i can have one like that in my area. It looks like an English cottage which needs a blooming garden on one side and a vegetable garden at the other. Oh i terribly want it too!
DeleteAndrea!
ReplyDeleteAndrea!
Hi We are very happy with the distant Polish!
Do you run a fantastic and interesting blog.
Your photos are very beautiful and interesting.
I am enchanted by them.
For me it's a different world, unusual, exotic.
I watch, admire and awakens all my admiration!
I will be happy to admire your next posts.
Lucy-Maria
Thank you so much Lucja-Maria for your kind words. I am trying my best to give my readers the things they don't usually see in their countries.
DeleteBeautiful photographs, fine views. I am greeting.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your visit. This is the first time i am visited by a Polish blogger!
Deletewonderful post. i do appreciate the landscape dotted with coconuts. i missed it especially since i've been gone a long time.
ReplyDeleteviva coconut
Yes Photo Cache, i can relate to how you feel when you see my photos. I am sure you miss home, i can also feel a tear! haha, no worries, you are in more beautiful landscapes. I remember your trips in South America.
DeleteThank you for the wonderful post and beautiful pictures
ReplyDeleteHi Klara, i miss your posts. Thanks for visiting and for your kind words. I still don't forget that it is you who identified my endemic orchid.
DeleteThat's a great post Andrea! You won't find a single coconut tree in Scotland, that's for sure. But did you know we buy coconuts to feed the wild birds with in winter? We cut them in half and hang them up and they keep the birds from starving in the snow.
ReplyDeleteOh is that really so Kininvie? I know that our chickens love the coconuts, we just half them as you do and let them eat the meat. I can understand why it is good for the birds, they get more oil which sustain and insulate them for winter. It must be expensive in Scotland! Maybe i should export ours to Scotland, and maybe that will serve as my passport to reach the country of my dream!
DeleteCoconut is also the tree of life in Malaysia. I'd love to stay in that beautiful coconut house.
ReplyDeleteBeeing the tree of life is universal, see the comment of kininvie above. It is a tree of life for the birds to withstand winter in Scotland. Isn't it great. Come we join forces and we will export to Scotland!
DeleteHey, we already have a network of Malaysia, Philippines and Scotland!
DeleteThanks for this interesting and informative post. I knew coconut was important, but I didn't realize how many different products were derived from this plant. The coconut house is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteOh George, there are still more we got from it, and derivative products from the primary products. The term Tree of Life is the best term for it, nothing less!
DeleteThe coconut house is cool! You really do use up every last bit of the plant. That's great. I was in the Dominican Republic at the end of May for my sons wedding. I saw coconuts growing there in trees, along the beach.
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie, coconut is a very tropical crop. I am amused with your last sentence, as if the only coconut is just the fruit. The trunk of coconut fruits are also coconuts, hahaha! Kidding aside, yes they love salt to grow better, in fact when planted in areas without salt it is being added as supplements, just like us taking Vit C supplement.
DeleteI agree totally, the coconut tree is a tree of life! It's versatility and usefulness is endless. A designer friend of mine is developing a line of home decor product and I know it will be stunning. Did you forget to mention how masarap it is too? As a refreshing natural drink, milk for endless dishes, yummy just to eat when mature? Another one of your superb posts, Andrea!
ReplyDelete[Your question on my post: You're right, there's been so much rain here lately, sunsets have been few and far between. That's what made this one so special for me. I can't tell you exactly what that tall building is, but the general area of those buildings is Filinvest Mall and Alabang Town Center, so it's probably one of a number of highrises now under construction. So when DO you take flight again? :-) ]
Thanks Francisca. I did not actually put much emphasis on the drink, maybe in the future i will put a post specifically on that.
DeleteSo you are in that area, i pass by the Alabang area everytime i go home to Batangas, and see those tall buildings while the bus is on the long overpass. Have you been to scuba dive in Anilao after your return? Happy weekend.
You must have written this comment before I left one on an earlier post, Andrea. No, sadly, we haven't been to Anilao yet due to the rains in Manila. Thought it would be too wet and gray to go now. Hope to get down there before we have to leave again.
DeleteEven if it's raining, it is still nice in Anilao, as long as there's no typhoon as that makes the water rough wanted only by windsurfers. Regarding the Alabang area and the village behind those tall buildings, which i will not specify, we know is the place for the rich and famous!hahaha very well deserved
DeleteHahaha... Nice try, Andrea... trust you me, I am neither rich nor famous... and don't aspire to be, although I admit a few more pesos in my bank account would not be unwelcome.
DeleteWonderful place to be ...
ReplyDeleteWow I agree it is the tree of life with everything now container coconut oil, milk etc....so healthy that I drink the milk and use the oil a lot now...even coconut water....amazing how it is used to its fullest and you have them everywhere
ReplyDeleteHello Donna, happy weekend. I am glad you are patronizing our tree of life. I know a lot about the VCO and i drink a lot of the young nut coco water. You should taste it from the freshly harvested nut, there's no such taste as awesome as that. I just actually get one in the backyard whenever i am home. Lovely world.
DeleteInteresting post, Andrea. I had no idea there are more than on variety of coconuts!
ReplyDeleteThanks EG CameraGirl. There really are many varieties, many uses and many differences in qualities of their products. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteVery interesting and informative post indeed! I liked the teapot and bowl container very much.
ReplyDeleteYes birdy, actually that teapot is very much liked by people. I posted in in FB and many of them asked me where the can buy it, haha!
DeleteCan't beat coconut water drunk straight out of a baby coconut then scooping out the pulp - delicious.
ReplyDeleteOh b-a-g, i can't believe you already have tasted it the right way, incredible. I know you are from the UK, i wonder which part of the world you did that! You exactly know how we do it in the tropics. Thank you.
DeleteHi Andrea, I remember a song about coconut tree. It say's "The coconut nut is a giant nut if you eat too much you get very fat. Now the coconut nut is a big big nut. But this delicious nut is not a nut. It's the coco fruit of the of the coco tree.? And so on... It is a funny song but it tells all the usage of the coconut from the roots, bark, fruit, leaves, the sap, husk in other words everything ^_^ even the toothpick! Hahahaha! And oh by the way the charcoal too. Dami!!!Thanks for the visit I do appreciate it a lot!
ReplyDeleteYes Kim, that song is usually sung by kids and as an ice breaker during long lectures. The supposed to be "nut" is not really a nut, botanically it is a drupe, or commonly called stone fruits. The most common examples of drupes are those in the genus Prunus, e.g. nectarines and peaches. Our mango is also a stone fruit or drupe.
DeleteI was surprised at the nice looking things made from coconut shells. Also that they have been around so long. Nice photos, Andrea, especially the last one.
ReplyDeleteDonna, i appreciate your appreciation of my last photo!
DeleteGreat Pics! I have learned from this post , thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteVery informative post, Andrea! I will share this with my daughter. She tagged along on one of my trips to a QC circle flower show and was looking out the window when she burst out "What? There is a coconut authority?!! Why?" I had to explain to her how important the coconut industry is and while I think she now partly understands, hopefully your post will drive the point home. She is still always amused when we pass by the area and never fails to point out the building.
ReplyDeletevery lovely post. coconut trees can be seen growing everywhere in Malaysia too and fresh coconut juice are a favourite here.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, thanks for visiting again here. They can actually make a lot of structures out of the coconut, sometimes they make monkey heads too! It easily lends to a lot of carving structures.
ReplyDelete