For you Lilly

To our teacher Lilly, I have to say you made this class a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I will miss it truly, and you as an instructor and I can only hope while my time at Harrington College of Design comes closely to an end, I hope once again I can have the pleasure of having you as an instructor. Thanks again!!

Take a Carribbean Cruise!!

Lets not forget the true inspiration behind this blog. I chose this material because I had just came back from a absolutely wonderful Carribbean cruise, that was filled with these beautiful trees everywhere. It was great and let me be the first one to say that I was against the whole thing but in the end it was great so do it!! LOL

Me and Blogger

I have to say, this blog has been quite the experience. After sitting down with it for a while, and having my cousin teach me how to use it, it became a little easier to handle. I gotta say it could be a fun thing to have but I think I will stick with facebook.

Info article behind Coconut Trees

http://www.otal.com/commodities/coconuts.htm

HGTV article on Palm as a material

As a useful source in the world design, I thought this link would be an interesting source to learn more about palm as a productive material

http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/nws_ind_nws_trends/article/0,,HPRO_26519_4137933,00.html

Sustainable Coconut Flooring

This is a great site to learn more about the installation methods and the process of Palm being processed and then turned into a flooring product

http://coconutfloorings.com/

Information of Coconut Coir as mulch

This is a recycled form of the coconut tree into mulch in which is a great moisture trapper.

www.densucoir.com/about.htm

Article on Ghana using Coconut Palm as a Sustainable Material

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2112/04-0371.1?journalCode=coas

Article on Alanu Coco Peats

This site was interesting to see the process in which the material was made into what looked like fiber sheets, or padding that can be used as insullation for buildings as well as out door applications.

http://www.alamucocopeats.com/strength.html

Article about the productivity of the Tree

This link has information of books on the material, and how great this wonder tree really is for the world of sustainablity.

http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the-coconut-palm--probably-the-worlds-most-productive-tree

Some interesting info on coconut palm

This article talks about how the tree is used by the people where the tree grows naturally

www.dtmag.com/Stories/Weird%20Stuff/04-05-whatabout.htm

Here is a link to a sustainable product made of Coconut Palm tree

www.plyboo.com/durapalm.html

I thought it was really interesting that I finally found a company that manufactured sustainable products with this materials.

Coconut grass??

In some research I found out what how the actual coconut is sustainable in design. I would have never thought of it but the almost hair like material on the exterior part of it is actually used for packing material, and insulation. I would assume that it would take a lot of them to insulate a house but if you think about it, for where these trees grow, mostly in a tropical environment, a house wouldn't need that much. Now, in order to get the material off, you need to peel off the external skin and pull it appart until you reach the core, which contains the milk. Just another thing that this tree has to give for the community it grows in.

Personal views

From what my research, vacations especially to the Carribbean, I have seen first hand what the locals use the Coconut palm for in there habitats. Some would say that the reason for the palm to be sustainable is because you can use the entire tree for something, an almost no waste use for it. The outer layer of the tree, or the husk, is used for roof sheeting, flooring, furniture, etc, it is the most durable part of the tree. The inner part, or the core, is used for eating, I actually tried it, not so bad, hearts of palm. The leaves, or the top, is used for things of a lesser importance, for instance baskets, clothing, insulation, etc. That is the entire tree. Locals after they use the tree, I noticed that they plant a new one after. So this is helping the argument"Is it sustainable".

Origins of the Palm tree

Some information on some origins for the tree itself with this link.

I thought it would be wise to get a grasp on the actual material itself

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut

Background Palm trees

Looking at the palm tree in particular, there are some things that are still a mystery to why it is a sustainable source in the design world. So because of this, I have decided to do some research on the actual source and tried to see some reason why it is sustainable. Starting off, trying to remember that for most, this is a tree, and like other trees it is used for the same thing, so right off the back, it can be sustainable for its ability to regrow itself after it dies or it is removed for manufacturing purposes. This in my mind shows nothing too special but through more research in where these grow and what is made with them.

Hey everyone, still looking into this material and I have to say it is a hard material to search when it comes to sustainablity. I have found a link though that had some idea what exactly coconut palm is used for and where it is used the most. Check it out.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ac126e/ac126e04.htm

Wouldn't Imagine it?

Over the past few years through my classes at Harrington, I have learned so much about the green movement and sustainable way to our future. I learned about the basics; cork, recycled plastics, bamboo, but just recently I come across a new material that i would never consider, and that is Coconut Palm as a sustainable material. Just finding out about it now I am very curious to learn more about it and why it is considered sustainable.