About banana fibre extraction and how to make bag from banana fibre

Banana fibre is eco friendly like jute fibre. The technology of banana fibre extraction has been developed in South India where in a good number of banana fibre extraction units have been running very successfully. Some firms are exporting the banana fibre products. Banana growing states of N.E.Region has adopted the technology from South and started production of banana fibre and fabric.

The extraction of the natural fibre from the plant required certain care to avoid damage. Initially the banana plant sections were cut from the main stem of the plant  and then rolled lightly to remove the excess moisture. Impurities in the rolled fibres such as  pigments, broken fibres, coating of cellulose etc. were removed manually by menas of comb, and  then the fibres were cleaned and dried.  This mechanical and manual extraction of banana fibres was tedious, time consuming, and  caused damage to the fibre. Consequently, this type of technique cannot be recommended for  industrial application. A special machine was designed and developed for the extraction of banana fibres in a mechanically automated manner. It consisted mainly of two horizontal beams whereby a carriage with an attached and specially designed comb, could move back and forth. The fibre extraction using this technique could be performed simply by placing a cleaned part of the banana stem on the fixed platform of the machine, and clamped at the ends by jaws. This eliminated relative movement of the stem and avoided premature breakage of the fibres. This was followed by cleaning and drying of the fibres in a chamber at 20oC for three hours. Traditional method is also there, by using drinking glass sharp at upper part (as shown in picture).

Making of Bag: The Banana twine is first soaked in water so that the fiber becomes soft and supple as it is flexible to make bags. The bag making process is very simple and followed crochet weaving technique. Banana weaving technique is unique when compared to other weaving techniques. The weaver uses their fingers to thread the bags and other products. Base and body of the Banana bag is weaved first and then weaving progress to increase the side walls of the bag. The handle of the bag is weaved separately and then attached to the bag. The excess Banana yarn after weaving is cut using scissors. Few other products like tea coaters and dining table mats are handmade by braiding the slices of Banana fibre and then coiled to take the required shape.