The local nurseries around here usually sell Coconut fiber in the Spring. It comes in rolls and you pay by the foot. I loosen the fiber a bit and use it the way many people use Sphagnum moss. I would think the compressed stuff in brick form is too fine to be used as orchid medium.
Some of my orchids are mounted on a slab of tree fern or grow in a tree fern ring.
About the unglazed clay pots - yes, by all means, they work very well for a variety of Orchids. The roots of many Orchids will adhere to the clay, so that is a consideration down the road.
