Coconut grooves can be found all along the Indian coastline, but the use of coconut products in an innovative way was far from being a reality. However, this young girl from Kerala has left eyebrows raised with her coconut shell products that are not only beautiful but also sustainable. Meet 26-year-old Maria Kuriakose from Thrissur in Kerala. She is the founder of ‘Thenga’, a company that makes coconut shell-based kitchenware using discarded coconut shells. Then, in Malayalam, means coconut and the brand has truly added more meaning to the usage of coconut shells.
Years before ‘Thenga’ happened, Maria, pursued a Master's in Business Administration and wanted to start a business venture. However, she had no idea that her search for business ideas would lead her to coconut shell bowls. On completion of her MBA, she joined a company and quit the job within a year. After a while, she took a plunge into starting her own business in 2019, following her long-nurtured dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
The beginning
It was Maria’s visit to an oil mill in Thrissur that sparked the idea of starting the coconut shell bowl business. During her visit to an oil mill, she saw that the coconut shells were being disposed of, while the fact was that these were eco-friendly. And sturdy shells had greats cope for value addition. A small portion of the shell wastes was used for producing charcoal, but besides this, there have been no efforts to add value to the shells.
Maria Kuriakose also discovered that a few craftsmen had ventured into making spoons out of the coconut shells. Those hands have almost stopped making the spoons due to lack of demand. Maria was determined to give wings to her plans, and her father Kuriakose Varoo helped her in setting up a unit with minimal investment. Thus, Maria started churning out beautiful yet sustainable coconut shell bowls under the brand Thenga. Which has sold over 8,000 coconut shell-based products as of now.
Social Concern
Thenga is not just a business that has been started by an enthusiastic MBA degree holder. It is much more than being just that. Thenga has breathed life into the dying art of making products from coconut shells that once thrived in Kerala. Many artisans and craftsmen who had hung their shoes have returned to their art, thanks to Maria and Thenga.
Secondly, Thenga happened mainly because of Maria’s love for Mother Earth. She is someone who loves nature and is against using plastic. Thenga reflects Maria’s love for nature. But Thenga products are entirely natural, to the extent that Maria has bid goodbye to varnish for final polish. Thenga products are given final polish using coconut oil!
The Growth
Maria’s Kitchenware is easy and long-lasting substitute for plastic. Since the raw material is easily available, the business can be sustained. However, the initial glitch was to market the product and Maria successfully overcame even that hurdle. She initially marketed the samples of the products at eco-friendly stores locally. When people started turning to these aesthetically appealing products, then there was no looking back.
At present, the brand makes bowls, cups, spoons, and forks using coconut shells. Garnering outstanding response in India. Thenga has managed to reach countries like the US, UK, and United Arab Emirates and soon Thenga will reach Germany too. Starting with Maria and her family members, today Thenga has 15 employees working to make perfect sustainable cutleries, out of which 12 are coconut shell artisans.
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