Back in 2014, the Institute for Materials and Wood Technology (IWH) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) started a research project which aimed to develop a cost-effective, sustainable construction material from coconut husk fibers, according to a press release issued by BFH. The experiences gained in this project are now being refined and enhanced by Michail Kyriazopoulos in a BFH spin-off. The former student and scientific assistant at the IWH founded the start-up NaturLoop together with Daniel Dinizo.
NaturLoop has now launched its first product in the form of a construction board made from coconut husk fibers. Crop waste from Filipino coconut farmers is used in the production process. “With Cocoboard we are offering a sustainable, cheap and local alternative to conventional building materials”, explains Kyriazopoulos in the press release. The next item on the NaturLoop’s agenda is the opening of a production facility in the Philippines.
The products made by the Bern-based start-up should reduce the dependency on imported construction materials in the Philippines. Furthermore, the sale of coconut husk fibers opens up an additional revenue stream to domestic coconut farmers. “As a technology service provider, our aim is to offer end-to-end solutions for the development of sustainable, natural bio-composites, manufactured from agricultural by-products”, comments Daniel Dinizo, CEO of NaturLoop. For him, sustainability means “taking the mutual dependency between nature and man into consideration”.
