Application of a coir geotextile reinforced mud wall in an area below sea level at Kuttanad, Kerala

摘要

Kuttanad is situated in the Alleppey district of the state of Kerala that is known as the Venice of East. Kuttanad, a low lying area, about 1 meter below MSL is known as the rice bowl of the state of Kerala in the southern most part of India. The average rainfall is 316cm, therefore, during the rainy season the whole area gets submerged due to overflow of river/canal waters resulting in loss of its fertile soil and destroying the paddy fields due to water logging. The locally situated Rice Research Station [RRS] under Kerala Agricultural University had been constructing mud walls every year using bamboo stakes that used to give in during flooding conditions due to heavy rains submerging the nearby paddy fields. Therefore, the RRS had approached the Coir Board to undertake a project to construct a mud wall on the bank of a nearby flowing river. Natural geotextiles made up of fibers extracted from coconut husk are emerging products for erosion control of soil slopes. Coconut is abundantly available in tropical countries and generates large quantities of renewable resource in terms of coir fiber. This paper reports a case study on the application of thickly woven [basket weave] coir matting as a reinforcement of mud wall. The mud wall using this material has withstood the flooding conditions for last 8 years. Such reinforced mud walls using thickly woven coir geotextiles could find applications in the low lying areas in different countries so as to protect the valuable soil against erosion.