Classrooms are considered temples where young minds are moulded. Students, as they gain knowledge, spend hours on classroom furniture made of wood, plywood, or plastic. Hence, the need to make the rooms and the ambience more eco-friendly.
Half-a-dozen government schools in Alappuzha district are replacing wooden desks and benches with more sustainable and environmentally friendly furniture made of coir composite board (coir wood) with funding from the Alappuzha district panchayat.
The coir composite tables and benches are manufactured by Foam Mattings (India) Limited (FOMIL), a State government undertaking. It uses coconut coir fibre as the primary raw material.
Twin benefits
Using benches and desks made of coir composite, according to officials, eliminates the need for tree felling, which in turn help fight climate change. It also gives a new lease of life to the ailing coir industry.
As a first step of switching to sustainable furniture in schools, 50 units of three-seater dual desk-bench were handed over to the Government High School, Mannancherry, earlier this week. The units have storage compartments, are sturdy, and are built to last.
₹25 lakh set aside
The local body has earmarked ₹25 lakh in the current fiscal for buying coir composite tables and benches for select government schools in the district.
“The project is about introducing sustainable furniture to schools and helping the traditional coir sector, which is going through tough times. We will be introducing tables and benches made of coir composite to five more government schools in the coming days,” says K.G. Rajeshwari, president, Alappuzha panchayat.
R. Riyas, member, health and education standing committee, Alappuzha panchayat, says that if found successful the rest of the government schools in the district will be provided with the furniture in next academic year.
FOMIL is selling a unit at ₹10,000. “Coir composite is an eco-friendly alternative to wood and plywood. Using it for furniture can prevent deforestation. We will soon introduce other furniture made of coir composite board,” says Roopesh K.R., commercial manager, FOMIL.
