Now, climbing goes professional

KOCHI: The first batch of the trained coconut climbers,’Friends of Coconut’, are out on the fields. The Coconut Development Board (CDB) has proposed a wage of Rs 750 per day for these professionals. While the general public is still  cynical about the rate, the CDB and the climbers trained under the scheme have no doubts about the feasibility of the wage.The technology is what makes most of the difference. The coconut climbers are given coconut climbing machines for free. This machines make the process of tree climbing not only fast but hassle-free as well. “At the end of the training we had competitions, during which some have climbed as many as four trees in five minutes. But on an average it takes about three minutes to climb up and come down. If there are lots of coconuts and if you need to do the cleaning too, it will take about 15 minutes. Besides you don’t have to do any real climbing, so the climbers can go on working till evening. The traditional climbers will  get tired soon and they need rest by noon,” says Bijoy Thomas, a trained coconut climber from Pathanamthitta.Bijoy Thomas says he already makes at least Rs 1000 per day. “There are lots who make Rs 1500. The number of trees you can climb may be less if the trees are more than 40 feet high. But you can climb as much as 150 trees if they are ordinary,” he says.  The CDB puts the figure at 60-120 trees per day averaged at 75. “If you get an amount of at least Rs 10 per tree, then the climber can make Rs 750 for sure. But the figure will be much higher”, says the Chairman of the Coconut Development Board, T K Jose.Apart from the technology, the coconut climbers are also given training on pests, coconut diseases, fertilizer application, management and so on. These too can yield additional sources of income. As of now the coconut board has trained 194 climbers from 10 districts.