How to make Manual Coconut Shredder (Kaguran)

One of many styles of Kaguran ( This is our Coconut Shredder)

Back in the old days and up to now, everyone had Shredder in their kitchen. These were important for getting the tasty coconut flesh out of the hard shell. There were different types, some even made by carpenters like my neighbor.

My neighbor made his own coconut shredder using a Y-shaped branch from a tree. Here's how he did it:

1. He found a branch shaped like a Y and cut it to make a flat base.
2. He used a tool called a chisel to make the branch flat.
3. Then, he made two legs to keep the shredder steady.

The most important part of the shredder is the teeth that crush the coconut. My neighbor made these from metal rods:

1. He heated the metal until it was red hot.
2. Then, he hammered the ends flat to make them like circles.
3. He made small sharp points around the circles for shredding.
4. He stuck the other end of the metal rods into the base of the shredder.

Once the shredder was ready, you could use it to crush the coconut by moving it up and down. It was hard work, but it got the job done and gave us delicious coconut flesh for cooking.