Manufacturing

We believe in leaving our place better for our children and families and for generations to come. That is why we take sustainability serious here at RIOCOCO. At RIOCOCO we use the part of the Coconut that is generally regarded as a waste material, or by-product of the coconut oil/water industry and turning it into a completely organic and natural growing medium for the use in homes and hobbyist gardeners to large-scale commercial greenhouses.

Manufacturing Process

Our manufacturing facilities are located in the island nation of Sri Lanka where the majority of the days it is sunny and breezy. Our factories are open up to allow the cool breeze in but are covered to keep out excess heat and occasional rain. To reduce the need for large heaters and lights to dry the coco prior to producing the final products. we utilize large concrete pads, surrounded by netting to keep out birds, seeds and various other debris that could potentially damage our product. These concrete pads allow us to spread out the coco and use the heat from the sun to dry and sterilize it without creating an increased demand for electricity.

The Product

Our medium has excellent water holding capacity and cation exchange ability. It allows to reduce the use of water and fertilizers. In comparison to normal open field operations, the large-scale greenhouse growers can save up to 90% of the normal water used.

End Use

For a large-scale commercial grower, growing hydroponically, options are numerous for what to do with the product in the growing season. To list a few options,

• The used media can be utilized in parks and gardens in their city as a form of mulch to help water retention and use less water while keeping the same beauty.
• It can be used in open field crops again to assist in the amount of water needed and lost due to evaporation, in addition to adding to the organic compounds as it breaks down over several years.
• As a home user, the medium can easily be left in the ground as it naturally breaks down adding to the health of the soil.

All of this has been a part of us since we started producing this natural medium, and so ingrained into our culture that it is easy to see why we received ISO 14001:2015 certification quickly and easily.

We don’t stop there as we are always looking to improve. Be that from training our staff to turn off lights and machines while not in use in the manufacturing facilities, to making sure lights are not being left on in empty rooms and offices, that recycling and energy efficiency is practiced as much as possible.