If you mean by raw fresh coconut as the matured one ( brown
colored)with the husk still in it. You have first to remove the husk
with the tip of a bolo or short machete. You have to make some
divisions by cutting the husk longitudinally( top to bottom) for
easier prying with the bolo. It takes some effort to remove the fibrous
husk by using the lever principle.
Once you remove the husk what you see is the round coconut shell with
three eyes.. You then have to strike it with the back of the bolo or
meat cleaver while turning the nut in circular fashion ensuring that
the cracks are well aligned so that it will come out with a clean
vertical cut.
After that if you want to extract the coconut meat , milk or cream. The
traditional way is to grate it with a special coconut grater looks
like a rounded chisel blade with spikes. Or if you don't have such,
you can chop the pried nut meat in a food processor to flakes and use
that to squeeze the coconut juice from it.
IF you squeeze it as is ( dry) , you will end up with coconut cream;
if you wet the meat with water you will get the coconut milk.
Usually in Asian cooking the coconut cream and milk is used for
cooking.
Roy