The Coconut Palm: Indonesia's Tree of Life

Coconut palms frame every view on the Gili Islands, leaning over the beaches of Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. Across Indonesia they are known as the tree of life, because almost every part of them is put to use. Botanically, they are not true trees but giant palms, thriving in sandy soil, sunshine and sea air.

The trunk provides a strong, durable timber used for building houses, furniture and small structures. The fronds are woven into baskets, mats and the delicate offerings you see in Bali and Lombok, or dried to make traditional thatched roofs. The thick fibrous husk, known as coir, becomes rope, doormats, brushes and mattress filling, and is also burned as fuel.

Then there is the fruit itself. A coconut takes around a year to mature. Young green coconuts are full of sweet, refreshing coconut water, the perfect drink after a swim. As it ripens, the white flesh thickens; it is eaten fresh, grated into dishes or pressed to make coconut milk and cream, essential to Indonesian curries, soups and desserts. Dried, the flesh yields coconut oil, used for cooking, massage and soap.

The coconut is also a great traveller. Light and buoyant, the fruit can float across the sea and take root on distant shores, which helps explain why palms grow on so many tropical islands.

At The Gili Beach Resort, a fresh young coconut in the shade of the palms is one of the simplest pleasures of island life.