JOIN USThousands of litres of coconut water generated in temples and desiccated coconut mills is literally going down the drain, though the precious liquid can be used to make nata de coco, a foodstuff which is in demand in West Asia.
At least 3,000 litres of coconut water is estimated to be generated every day in temples and mills which release it into water bodies and pollute them. A professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) here has developed a technology to convert this water into nata de coco which is a chewy, jelly-like food product that can be served as biosweet in ice creams, fruit preparations like cocktails and salads.
Prof B Narayanaswamy, who teaches agricultural microbiology, said the technique converts coconut water into nata de coco through solid fermentation by adding ingredients such as pure bacterial cellulose, sugar syrup and added natural flavour.
Native flavour can be added to nata de coco to boost the sales. Non-food products can also be produced from coconut water, he said.
Setting up a plant to process 100 litres of water requires an investment of Rs 5 lakh and the business can be expanded depending on the scope. Though people feel the product is not saleable in Karnataka, it is in demand in several West Asian countries which import it from the Philippines. Narayanaswamy said that a lack of awareness about nata de coco was the reason behind poor response. “People don’t know that it provides an exciting business opportunity,” he said, ruefully. “Jobless men can start the business as the raw materials are available free of charge because disposing them is a headache for mills and temples.” The professor said that his two-decade-long effort in popularising the technique in Karnataka had evoked poor response as neither the government nor the temple managements wanted to adopt the technique to make byproducts and make money. He said he had met government officials, especially in the Muzrai Department, appealing them to set up coconut water-processing plants as temples generate 5,000-7,000 litre of coconut water but their response was discouraging.
He said he was willing to guide if jobless people were ready to start nata de coco business.