Elderly coconut vendors gain online support

 | Mon 28 Jun 2021 12:57 ICT

Social media has recently spot lit the efforts of an elderly couple, who have been plying the streets, selling coconuts, to alleviate the burden on their family, lauding the couple for their resilience and urging netizens to support the pair.

A photograph of the couple went viral recently showing an elderly pair pushing a fresh coconut cart around various parts of town. Mainly seen on Charoenmuang Road, stopping off at Prince Royal’s College, Dara Academy and McCormick Hospital, the couple are selling coconuts at 50 baht a pop.

The husband and wife team, both 66, told CityNews that they live in a small room in Sanpakoi and wake up each morning to fill their foam box with iced coconuts before heading into the city. The couple, who are also grandparents, said that the husband was no longer able to push the cart due to his legs being weak, but he can still steer it while his wife pushes. They have been doing this for ten years now and say that they receive a lot of support from the public who send friends and family their way.

The pair say that they were both previously married, but their spouses died. They have been together for fifteen years, waking up every morning at 4am to prepare for work, beginning to sell their coconuts by 7am daily.

Each day they sell between 20-30 coconuts, enough to live on with a little support from their children. They thank the public for being kind and supportive, saying that the viral posts have brought them much new business.