Labourer makes hats from coconut fronds

He picked up the skill from the Internet.

TIRUCHI

An agricultural labourer, who has been rendered jobless during the lockdown, has taken to weaving and selling hats made of coconut fronds to children and adults near the Collectorate here. The man apparently learned the skill on the internet.

R. Vijayakumar, who works as an agricultural labourer who also weaved coconut frond decorations for pandals for weddings has always been interested in the flexibility and strength of the coconut tree, he says. The pandals would stay strong for weeks, even after the leaves had dried up.

During the lockdown, with no weddings and celebrations being organised, Mr. Vijayakumar had a load of fronds on his hands and nothing to do with them. “I researched on YouTube and found these hats. It was difficult to learn but I did it quickly,” he says.

Mr. Vijayakumar then decided he would show the work to his friends. Every morning he would bring a small load of the fronds and weave them seated near a tea shop which his friend owned.

One day, some parents who passed by here admired my work and asked if they could by some for their kids, he says. The bright green hats attracted a lot of people. From then on, I come here almost every morning, weave till about noon and sell whatever I weave, he adds.

The coconut fronds are purchased from men who climb the trees to harvest coconuts. “If I pay them ₹100, I usually get three to four fronds,” he says. The leaflets are then removed individually and soaked in water, which makes them more flexible.

Despite his hardships, he has not set a fixed price on the hats. He says- “people come and watch me weave them, record some videos and then pay me anything between ₹ 50 -100 for a hat. I do not demand any money as I know everyone else is struggling as well.”