Not all coconut trees are the same. And also harvesting coconuts are dangerous job. The established coconut farms (and backyard trees) are very tall, combining with too many heavy fruits, it's an incident waiting to happen both for harvester and people on the ground. So the safer way to harvest coconut is to climb to the top, tie a rope, saw the fruit branch and rappel. I can't say for Thai's method, though you can't just use a long stick and cut the fruits.