Every part of the coconut can become a business

The classic stiff broom made from the midribs of coconut leaflets. Every home, school and street sweeper uses one.

Young coconut leaves woven into puso (hanging rice pouches), palaspas for Palm Sunday, baskets, hats and décor.

The tender core at the top of the coconut trunk. It is the star of lumpiang ubod and other dishes. Taking it kills the…

Brown sugar made by boiling the sweet sap from the coconut flower. It is sold as a natural sweetener at home and abroad.

Coconut sap boiled into a thick, honey-like syrup. It is easier to make than granulated sugar and sells as a natural syrup.

Vinegar made from fermented coconut sap. A Filipino kitchen staple, with premium aged versions sold to restaurants and abroad.

Tuba is coconut sap left to ferment into a mild palm wine. Lambanog is tuba distilled into a strong spirit, now sold in flavored…

A soy-free seasoning sauce made from coconut sap and salt. It is popular with health-food buyers abroad.

The water of young coconuts, sold fresh in the nut or poured into bottles and cups. It is one of the easiest coconut businesses…

Coconut water that is filtered and treated so it keeps for weeks or months. It is a large export product and sells in supermarkets…

Chewy, clear cubes made by fermenting coconut water with a friendly bacteria. It was developed in the Philippines and is now used in desserts…

Vinegar made by fermenting coconut water, often the water left over from making copra or desiccated coconut. It turns a waste product into something…

The rich liquid pressed from grated mature coconut meat. Fresh gata is sold in markets every day; packed coconut milk and cream keep for…

Shredded coconut meat dried until it keeps for months. The Philippines is one of the world’s biggest exporters, and bakers and candy makers use…

Oil taken from fresh coconut meat without high heat or chemicals, so it keeps the coconut’s smell and taste. It is sold for cooking…

Copra is dried coconut meat. Mills press it into crude coconut oil, which is refined for cooking oil and many other products. It is…

A fine, gluten-free flour made from the meat left after taking out coconut milk or oil. It turns a by-product into a product with…

Thin slices of coconut meat baked or toasted until crisp, plain or flavored. A popular snack for pasalubong and health stores.

A special coconut whose meat is soft and jelly-like. It is cooked in syrup and sold as strings or balls for desserts. Good macapuno…

Pies and pastries filled with soft young coconut meat. Buko pie is a famous pasalubong, especially along the roads of Laguna.

Traditional sweets made from coconut milk and meat: coconut jam, bukayo, and many kakanin. They use simple ingredients and sell well as pasalubong.

Charcoal made by slowly burning coconut shells with little air. It burns hot and clean, and is the raw material for activated carbon.

Shell charcoal treated with steam at very high heat until it is full of tiny pores. It cleans water, air and liquids in filters…

Bowls, cups, spoons, buttons, jewelry and décor carved and polished from coconut shells. Each piece is unique, and buyers want natural, plastic-free goods.

Finely ground coconut shell used as a filler in glues, plastics and other industrial products, and as a gentle scrub in soaps.

The tough fiber in the coconut husk. It is twisted into twine and rope, and is the starting point for many husk products. Husks…

Nets woven from coir twine that hold soil in place on slopes, riverbanks and road cuts while plants grow. They rot away naturally once…

The fine dust left after taking fiber from husks. Washed and dried, it is a light growing medium for plants that holds water well.

Everyday products made from coir: doormats, brushes, plant pots, mattress fillings and rope. Strong, natural and long-lasting.

Soaps, lotions, lip balms, hair oils and scrubs made with coconut oil or VCO. A favorite first business for co-ops and home makers.

Industrial ingredients made from coconut oil, such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols and glycerin. They go into soaps, detergents, shampoos, food and medicines worldwide.

Fuel made from coconut oil, called coconut methyl ester. In the Philippines it is blended into diesel sold at pumps, which creates steady demand…

What’s left after pressing oil from copra. It is a protein-rich ingredient for pig, poultry and cattle feed.

Wood from old coconut trees that no longer bear many nuts. It is used for houses, flooring, furniture and handicrafts.