India has its manufacturing and production spread all over the country. Today, in this article we shall discuss one such product being manufactured in the state of Kerala since 1859. It is called as Alleppy Coir. These coir products are made in Ambalappuzha and Cherthala Taluks of Alappuzha district.
Alleppy Coir
Their main products include coir beds, coir mats, and coir carpets. The first coir factory in India was established in 1859 by an Irish American entrepreneur James Darragh and it was named as Darragh Small and Company which is located in Alleppy.
It was also exported at that time and the coir was called as Cocoa mats in American English and also the alleppy coir had its sales room at 177, Water Street, New York City at that time.
 
There are about 4000 small-scale producers of coir products in Kerala itself. The government in order to find out the market for these products established The Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd.
The coir industry employs nearly 0.40 million workers and the majority of them are women from villages of Kerala. The government calls the upliftment of this industry as upliftment of the living standards of these 0.4 million workers especially that of village women.
 
The corporation has 10 showrooms nationwide spread across the country. It is one of the major suppliers to defence establishment and other huge government and non-government sectors in the country.
They are successful in meeting and maintaining their quality standards and specifications. It has its export business going on successfully in European, USA countries despite hard and stiff competition from fellow exporters.
Other industries that manufacture coir in Kerala are United coir, Classic Coir, Free India Coir Manufacturing Co, Travancore Mats and Mattings Company etc.
 
The geographical indication status was granted to Alleppey coir in 2007 by the World Trade Organization(WTO). Hence India since 1859 has been manufacturing, selling and exporting coir products to various countries.
