Banana Waste is Really Useful - Learn How

 

Do you know that around 100 billion bananas are consumed worldwide each year?

Bananas are not just a fruit to eat. But you can indirectly use it as daily-essential at your home. Now you might be wondering, what does that even mean?

There are various species of the banana plant. But mainly, we categorize them into two primary types - fruit-bearing and non-fruit bearing.

The non-fruit-bearing species of the banana is known as Abaca. The trending banana fiber Rugs in India are also sourced from this species only.

 

 

Abaca has been grown in India for a long time to be utilized as a textile fiber. You might be surprised to hear that bananas can be used to produce fibers, however, that's not it. There are many more surprising things we are going to discuss about banana fiber today. Here's what you are going to learn in this blog:

●     What is Abaca?

●     How to grow fiber-generating species of banana?

●     The production process of banana fiber

●     Uses of banana fiber

So are you ready to explore some amazing details about Banana fiber? Let's jump straight to the points.

What is Abaca?

Do you know where bananas are grown? Trees! Is that your answer too?

Well, we regret to inform you that it's not the right answer. Actually, bananas are grown on "plants" and not trees. And another fun fact you might not know about bananas is - technically, it's not a fruit, but a berry. 

 

 

 

Besides, people find it comforting to call it fruit, so let's go with it. Coming on the point, the species we are primarily focusing on in this blog is Abaca. It's another variety of banana plants, however, it grows non-edible fruit. And since humans cannot eat it, we evolved with the idea to produce something useful out of it.

That's when we came up with the banana fiber. Popularly used for the production of sustainable products like Banana rugs in India.

 Some farmers not only extract fiber from the Abaca fruit but also from plantain, utilizing the whole banana plant. Isn't that so cool? But do you know what's cooler? The process of growing the Abaca? Let's learn about it.

How to Grow Fibre Generating Species of Banana?

The cultivation process of Abaca is really slow. It takes approximately 18-24 months to grow an Abaca plant from the shoots. But still, when an Abaca plant grows, it provides at least 12-30 stacks of leaf, each sizing 12-20 feet high. That's a really big sheath of leaves. Once the Abaca plants are grown to 12-20 feet in height, farmers harvest them every few months. Farmers call it a cash crop after its initial growth period.

Production Process of Banana Fibre

Just like Abaca plant cultivation, the production process of its fiber is also laborious. It includes methods such as cultivation, fiber extraction, processing of the fiber, and sorting. After going through so many steps, the tough but lustrous and fine fiber is produced. After the production process, the fiber gets further woven to create supple but versatile textile and other household products like Banana rugs in India.

In India, the banana fiber is generally woven by small communities of craftspeople on non-electric looms. The best part about this fiber is - it has high strength and requires no chemicals to produce. Let us share with you the process of creating the Abaca plant fiber:

●     The banana plant's trunk is soaked in water. This step makes it more soft and manageable to extract the fiber.

●     The trunk is then placed in a stripping machine to extract fiber from it. Some locals do this process with their hands.

●     Once the fiber is extracted, it's knotted into the yarns and then sent forward to produce a usable product.

Do you know that every year tons of banana plant stems are wasted? And according to research by the Handbook of Fiber Chemistry, it only requires 37kg stems to produce a ilogram of banana fiber, which is equal to many Banana fiber rugs in India. 

 Low demand is one of the reasons for this wastage. But with the increasing globalization and expansion of the Indian handicraft market, the demand for such products is also increasing. This means there's still hope that the banana waste can be decreased with time. And it will not only decrease but be used sustainably.

Uses of Banana Fabric

For a long time, Abaca fiber used to be referred to as Manila hemp. Why? It's because the fiber is versatile, strong, and grows quickly. A few years back, this fiber was only used to produce specialty paper (banknotes, filter paper, tea bags) and twine. But now, Abaca fiber has become a popular raw material globally. Depending upon the composition, the fiber can have various unique characteristics. Here are some of the most trending use of Abaca fiber:

●     Embroidery rugs

●     Couture finishings

●     Millinery and interior blinds

●     Avant-garde fashion

●     Decorative tableware

These were popular ways to use the Abaca fiber. However, there's one more use of this fiber, which is rugs. The demand for Banana fiber rugs in India is continuously increasing. The rugs that are made from this fiber are not only strong but come into various designs and embroidery work. There are many online stores where you will find banana rugs. But you should prefer choosing those ecommerce sites whose rugs are made by local craftsmen. This way, you will support the local culture and handicraft of India.

Final Words

So this is everything you need to know about banana fiber. Also, you should definitely try out buying and using Banana rugs in India if you are not a native citizen. You are going to love Indian banana rugs.

Read More about: Banana Exporter in India