Thenga: Keralas Sustainable Social Brand Upcycling Coconut Shells, Creating Livelihood For Local Artisans

Image Credit: From the source

Thenga: Kerala's Sustainable Social Brand Upcycling Coconut Shells, Creating Livelihood For Local Artisans

With the right marketing tools implemented by Kerala-based Maria Kuriakose and collaborated with consistent efforts from her team of local artisans, 'Thenga' has sold products at a scale where they almost ran out of coconut shells.

  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo

Coconuts constitute a significant part of Kerala's culture and cover more than 30 per cent of the state's cropped area. However, due to the abundance of this natural resource, a good portion of it goes to waste. Especially the lesser used parts, such as the shells, get burned off in the mills.

In such a scene, Maria Kuriakose entered with her innovative sustainable brand that utilises these parts of coconut that are usually thrown away to create durable, eco-friendly, and daily use products.

Over two years into creating this homegrown brand, she talks to The Logical Indian about the various challenges in the local markets, creating opportunities, exposure for local artisans, and the ideation and efforts that went behind it all.

From Home Backyards To Importing Shells From Vietnam

More than 95 per cent of coconut trees are grown in the home backyards of Keralites, and this is also where the story of Thenga (the Malayalam word for coconut) roots from.

Maria is an Economics and Business graduate who worked a corporate job in Mumbai for a while before she felt the need to begin something of her own. As someone invested in the idea of social entrepreneurship and sustainability, she traced back to her roots, looking for innovative ideas for a brand. Around the same time, she felt that the agricultural sector in Kerala needed a boost, and what best way to do that than begin with coconuts in the land of coconuts?

She experimented with coconut shells and sent samples to businesses across India. From this, she gained an understanding of the market and returned home to create more artistic bowls using the shells and put them out in the market. Occasional visits to the local fairs and exhibitions helped her connect with artists from across the state. Since then, her group has expanded to a team of extremely talented 14 people.

With the right marketing tools implemented by Maria and collaborated with consistent efforts from her team of local artisans, they have sold products at a scale where they almost ran out of coconut shells. Sourcing the right materials from the backyards, mills, restaurants, and industrial units, most of the shells for making the bowls and cutlery are collected from Kerala.

However, as they explore further into the market, they have begun importing coconut shells for jumbo bowls with an increased capacity of 900ml from Vietnam and continue to process and work on them at the units based in Kerala. This brand's growth has contributed to a stable income for local artisans and a sustainable tomorrow.

Building Healthier & Sustainable Lifestyle

Upcycling coconut shells, Thenga now sells a whole range of products, including bowls, teacups, cutlery, candles, hanging planters, and so on. The artists working along with her are able to generate a stable income that's helping them cope with the uncertainty involved in the artistic spaces. The team has artists from various parts of Kerala, including Thrissur, Kottayam, Wayanad, Kodungallur and Alappuzha.

One of the artists, Shaju from the Koratty town of the cultural capital Thrissur, spoke about how he used to create several products with coconut shells but could not create a broader market for the same. After having collaborated with Maria and the brand Thenga, he could delve more into the concepts of marketing and creating a consumer space for the products he makes.

They continue to function in the eco-friendly manner they began with despite the growing number of orders nationally and internationally. Today the brand has been able to influence multiple people across the spectrum, from creating a livelihood for artisans to building a healthier and sustainable lifestyle for its consumers.

Also Read: 'Bare Necessities'-A Zero Waste Brand That Offers Sustainable Alternatives

Contributors Suggest Correction
Editor : Shiva Chaudhary
,
Creatives : Laxmi Mohan Kumar

Must Reads