§1What this business is
A coco log is a tube of pressed coir fibre held in a net of knotted coir yarn. Logs are 30–50 cm thick, usually 6 m long, and are pegged along stream, river and lake banks to stop scouring. The profile's standard log is 30 cm × 6 m and weighs 48 kg.
Capacity: 72 rolls a day; 14,400 rolls a year at full capacity (200 days). Sale price ₹1,000 a roll.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone in a coir-producing area who can bid for irrigation and road works.
Who it is not for
Someone far from coir fibre supply or uncomfortable with tenders.
Advantages
- Uses cheap bit fibre (short coir fibre)
- Natural, biodegradable erosion control
- Simple machines, unskilled labour
- Large turnover for a ₹20 lakh project
Drawbacks
- Raw material is about two-thirds of sales — thin margin
- Buyers are mostly government and contractors; payments can be slow
- Heavy product (48 kg a roll) — freight adds up
Skills you need
- Fibre buying and grading
- Tendering with government departments
- Labour management
- Transport planning
Why difficulty 3/5: Easy to make, but selling needs tender work and the margin is thin.
§3Market
Who buys
- Irrigation and flood-control departments
- Road and railway embankment contractors
- Lake and wetland restoration projects
How it sells
- Government tenders
- Supply to civil contractors
Good to know
- For high banks with changing water levels, several logs are stacked.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Coco log machine, 5 HP | 3 | ₹11,00,000 |
| Other equipment | — | ₹32,000 |
From: PMEGP project profile — Coco Log Making Unit (prepared by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME) (2018)
- Bit fibre (short coir fibre)₹13,000 a ton including coir yarn for the net
- Coir yarnknotted into the outer net
- Wooden stakes or pegsused at site to hold the logs (buyer's side)
From: PMEGP project profile — Coco Log Making Unit (prepared by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME) (2018)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Registration with the Coir Board (needed to export; also opens Coir Board schemes)
- Factory licence if 10 or more workers use power
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP (this profile was made for it), MUDRA loans up to ₹20 lakh and CGTMSE cover for a collateral-free loan fit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Coir Board profile: building ₹5.00 lakh + machinery ₹11.32 lakh + working capital ₹3.68 lakh = ₹20.00 lakh.
Working capital: Working capital ₹3.68 lakh (bank loan ₹3.50 lakh).
Prices from June 2018 — machinery costs will be higher now.
§8Export potential
Export council / board: Coir Board
- Coir exporters register with the Coir Board and take its registration-cum-membership certificate.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Delayed payment on government jobs
- Fibre price swings
- Seasonal demand around the monsoon
- Competition from synthetic geotextiles
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working coco log making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Coco Log Making?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.