Carver turns trash into cash

       Phayao's creative entrepreneur Jidapa 'Toi'Mingkwan has made a windfall from her coconut creations, writes Sai-arun Pinaduang
       It is remarkable how someone with a vibrant imagination can take what most people regard as trash and transform supposedly worthless discards into creative products.A walk around the backyard of a onestorey house in the sleepy Ruang Thong community in Phayao's Chun district, reveals an open wooden rice barn. Next to it lay piles of dried coconut shells and finished products crafted from what was once considered rubbish.
       Close by, a middle-aged woman is busy cutting and carving coconut shells into various shapes.She is surrounded by numerous containers of dried coconuts, and judging from the quantity of the husks she has, her work won't be finished anytime soon.
       Jidapa "Toi" Mingkwan, 46, turns off the roaring cutting machine before she starts discussing her signature products, which she has proudly tagged "Coconut Shells of Phayao: A Thai Product of Local Wisdom".
       She explains how simple observations set her off on a journey of creative recycling.
       "There were two coconut trees in front of my house. Ripe and dried-up coconuts kept falling down one after another just to end up as garbage.One day I asked my dad what to do with those coconuts to get some value from them," says Ms Jidapa.
       She and her father spent some time working out how to make cash from the discarded nuts.
       Before long, however, they started cutting the shells into pieces of different shapes and sizes which they could then make into key chains,hairpins and earrings.
       Ms Jidapa says she always gives her imagination a free rein when cutting and carving the shells.
       And her creations show what someone with creative flair and ingenuity can achieve with a material most people think can only be used to fuel a cooking fire.
       What began as a hobby became a serious job in 2007 when she expanded her product line to include piggy banks, dolls, lamps, and candle holders.
       Her latest creations include incense containers shaped like a Native American's head - a design she plans to patent.
       Since the first day she picked up a dried coconut and made a commercial product from it, Ms Jidapa has come up with a large variety of impressively designed craftware.
       One day she thought it was time to see how her creations would fare against other people's products, so she signed up for a local Otop competition. Her products won awards from the Community Development Department in 2007 and 2008.
       "I have my own booths to display my products at various fairs held in the province. I also join fairs elsewhere whenever I have time," she says."I also attract customers at the Chatuchak market in Bangkok. They like my products which can be used to decorate spas and resort hotels."
       Among her best-selling products are scented candle holders made from coconut shells and colourful decorative lamps, says Ms Jidapa.
       The prices of her products range from 10 to 600 baht apiece. Cheaper items include key chains, hairpins and earrings. In the medium range are piggy banks priced 100 to 200 baht each. Larger items such as lamps cost 400 to 600 baht each.
       Ms Jidapa says she has received large orders from export companies.
       "I have orders from the company that exports scented products to the Middle East, especially to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
       "It is important that the products are chemicalfree and look natural," she says."They must be made from polished coconut shells only and show their true colour and texture. Seams can be decorated slightly with woven hyacinth threads."
       The first big order she received was for 600 candle holders priced at 20 baht each.
       As demand soon outstripped locally available raw materials, Ms Jidapa began buying coconut shells from outside her village.
       "There are coconut trees in the compound of most houses in the North. When local children knew that I needed dried coconuts, they kept bringing them to sell to me. I buy dried coconuts at 1 to 2 baht apiece," she says.
       Even rotten coconuts can be used as long as the shells are not tainted.
       Ms Jidapa also goes out to buy coconut shells herself and often uses the occasion to advertise her products.
       Turning coconuts into useful items not onl y creates value, she says, it is also an environmentally friendly way to make money, reduce garbage, and put oneself through all the physical and mental exercises that comes with the work.