coconut carving & crafts

I'm wondering how does the coconut meat get removed from a coconut shell (leaving the shell intact) in order to carve it? Most of the carvings that I've seen seem to have an intact coconut shell and no meat inside of it. I've googled it, but the tutorials I've found seem to be focused on the meat and not the shell.

If you're cutting the shell so you have a large enough hole to remove the meat, it's not to hard to clean out the meat.
To make get it out easier, heat it in an oven at about 200 degrees for 10-20 minutes. Just take it out before it starts to burn. Then the meat separates from the shell and comes out very easily.

If you're trying to keep the whole shell intact, I can think of a couple of options, but I haven't tried these yet.
Punch out the eye, and leave it on an anthill for a while. Let the ants remove the meat.
Punch out two eyes, use your drill with some sort of attachment to grind up the meat and rinse it out. Maybe something like a wire brush would work well.

Hay Jim,
I've carved several & I carve them when they're green.
A hole big enough for a spoon is all you need.
Some times I open the back so you won't see when it's mounted.
Here's a few.