Kerala man makes coconut plucking a hi-tech job
Thiruvananthapuram: Shortage of trained nut pluckers is a grim farm sector problem in Kerala but for 37-year-old Selvin Chacko coconut plucking is a hi-tech profession involving car, mobile and even a dedicated website.

Travelling in the car helps him save time as he can rush from one coconut garden to the next.
Selvin says he climbs 40 to 45 trees a day earning not less than Rs 30,000 a month. His phone number and profile are available on a website launched in the name of 'Changathikoottam', a gathering of trained coconut pluckers.
A failed business man, Selvin said coconut plucking has helped him to rebuild his life.
"I have tried my luck in a number of enterprises but could not succeed. Finally, I started looking for a job which could give me a steady income. After some search, I found coconut plucking a gainful career as there is a huge demand for coconut harvesters in Kerala," Selvin said.
After his schooling, Selvin became a bus conductor and even bought two buses eventually. But the bus business failed soon and he was pushed into debt-trap.
Father of three kids, he later joined a week long coconut climbing training programme conducted by the 'Krishi Vingnan Kendra' in Kumarakom near Kottayam.
He gets an average of 100 calls a day from various parts of the district. Apart from wages, he also charges petrol price for the assignments outside the district.
"Though I mastered the nuances of tree climbing and nut plucking, I had to face stiff opposition from my family and traditional coconut pluckers in the initial days," he said.
"My family and community members complained that I humiliated them by entering in the profession while conventional nut pluckers blamed me for charging lower wages."
Of late, he had also turned a trainer, having helped a dozen youth learn the job.
News: IBNLive
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