Water

Coconut plantations cover a substantial part of the Tap Sakae district in Thailand’s Prachuab Khiri Khan province, serving as important livelihood to rural communities. Tap Sakae farmers have depended on the coconut tree and its byproducts for years. Besides its fruit, most parts of the coconut tree have some use:

• Coconut water is collected and sold
• Coconut meat is used for making coconut cream or coconut oil
• Pressed cake from the coconut oil production is used as animal fodder
• Coconut shells are used to make charcoal briquettes
• Coconut fiber is exported for furniture cushions

But the processing of coconut residues, while a potentially lucrative business, is often considered a not-so-profitable activity because of the lack of technology. Though a major coconut producer, the Tap Sakae district is also one of the poorest. Most of the coconuts that are not processed locally are sold at low prices and transported to central Thailand for further processing.

This PDA assessed more efficient uses of coconut residues locally, specifically for water filter products, to boost the local coconut industry and fast-track socio-economic development in the province.

• Identification of potential raw material suppliers (coconut shells, coconut fiber residues and/or palm oil shells, etc.)
• Identification of potential buyers of activated carbon
• Technical pre-feasibility report for preparation of final technical design and project implementation
• Financial pre-feasibility report
• Evaluation of institutional, legal, and environmental frameworks
• Project implementation plan
• Preliminary environmental impact assessment

• Final Report (May 2008) [ PDF ]
• Midterm Report (March 2008) [ PDF ]
• Inception Report (December 2007) [ PDF ]
• Proposal (October 2007) [ PDF ]